tntI)eCitpoflmjgork 

THE  LIBRARIES 


Bequest  of 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1945 


(»/ 


\A'h  w^' 


LEITHS   NARRATIVE 


SHORT   BIOGRAPHY 


OF 


JOHN    LEITH 


WITH  A    BRIEF  ACCOUNT   OF  HIS  LIFE   AMONG 

THE  INDIANS 


A    REPRINT 

WITH  ILLUSTRATIVE  NOTES 

BY 

C.  W.   BUTTERFIELD 

Author  of  "  Nicolet's  Discovery  of  the  Northwest,"  "  WasViington-Irvine 
Correspondence,"  and  other  works 


CINCINNATI 

ROBERT   CLARKE   &   CO 

188-3 


J  >     J       J 


/-y 


Copyright  : 
ROBERT  CLARKE  &  CO. 

1883. 


One  hundred  and  forty-three  copies  printed. 

No....^l...__    ^''^^ '- 


»";"''     ....    II    . 

'  «   I  I  I  <i  1    , 

'  '  1  1 1 1  I    t 

•    '  *      «  4       I     I  I 

'  t      »  1         C   t 


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l"^    '       ill      . 

t     ^  H     ».        t 

I         1.      I  I        » 


PREFATORY. 


In  adding  illustrative  notes  to  this  reprint,  the  object  has 
been  to  mal<e  the  story  more  intelligible  to  the  general  reader; 
for,  as  it  stands  originally,  even  the  critical  student  of  western 
history,  without  considerable  thought  and  study,  might  fail  to 
realize  its  importance.  The  annotations  begin  with  Leith's  in- 
troduction to  savage  life,  and  end  with  his  final  return  to  civili- 
zation ;  beyond  this  point,  the  narrative  gives  a  vivid  portrayal 
of  hardships  and  privations  such  as  were  incident  to  the  early 
settlement  of  the  West;  but  the. recital  needs  little  if  any  eluci- 
dation, and  none  is  given. 

This  narrative,  considering  the  age  of  the  narrator  when  it 
was  taken  from  his  lips,  and  the  number  of  years  which  had 
elapsed  since  he  bade  adieu  to  Indian  haunts,  is  unusually  ac- 
curate. What  few  errors  in  his  statements  have  been  discov- 
ered, are  pointed  out  in  the  foot-notes.  The  mistake  in  spelling 
Leith's  name  is  clearly  traceable  to  his  editor,  as  the  same  or- 
thography is  adopted  when  the  city  of  Leilh,  Scotland,  is  men- 
tioned,— it  being  given  ''  Leeth."  The  spelling,  punctuation,  and 
capitalization  of  the  original  are  strictly  followed  in  the  reprint; 
and  the  original  paging  is  indicated  therein  by  brackets.  Adding 
greatly  to  the  understanding  of  Leith's  relation  of  events  in 
the  wilderness  are  the  depositions  given  by  him  immediately 
after  the  occurrence  of  some  of  them.  It  is  only  recently  that 
one  of  these  valuable  contemporaneous  statements  has  been 
brought  to  light.  The  republication  of  what  has  become  so  ex- 
cessively rare  as  this  pamphlet,  in  a  measure  rescues  from 
oblivion  a  valuable  contribution  to  American  history,  especially 
to   that  portion  of  it  relating  to  the  region  of  the  Northwest. 

C.  W.  B. 
Madison,  Wis.,  ya?iHaryi  1SS3. 


SHORT  BIOGKAFIIV 

OF 

GIVING    A    BRIEF    ACCOUNT   OP'    HIS   TRAVELS   AND    SUKKER- 

INGS    AMONG   THE 

ludiiiiiH   fox*  eigflitceu   yeai's, 

TOGETHER    WITH 

HIS  hbligiovs  exercises, 

FROM  HIS  OWN   RELATION, 

BY  EWEL  JEFFRIES. 


LANCASTER,    OHIO. 

PRINTED  AT  THE  GAZETTE  OFFICE— MAIN  ST. 

1831. 


PREFACE. 


The  design  of  the  following  work  is  to  show  the  providence 
of  God,  in  guiding  his  creatures  through  life,  although  their  situ- 
ation, at  times,  may  be,  to  all  appearance,  dismaying,  perilous 
and  almost  insurmountable. 

Mr.  Leeth,  the  subject  of  the  following  pages,  is  now  living 
[1S31],  and  has  long  been  a  respectable  member  of  the  Methodist 
Communion.  Having  been  directed,  by  an  unseen  hand,  through 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  from  the  savage  haunts  of  a  bound- 
less wilderncsS;  to  the  peaceful  shades  of  civilized  society,  with  a 
competency  to  make  his  declining  years  easy  and  respectable,  in 
the  large  circle  of  friends  in  which  he  moves,  he  may  truly  say, 

the  Christian's  life  is  a  life  of  pleasantness. 

The  Author. 


Biography  of  John  Leeth. 


I  was  born  in  Hickory  Grove,  on  the  Pedee  River, 
South  Carolina,  on  the  15th  day  of  March,  1755,  of 
respectable  parents,  though  of  low  circumstances  in 
the  world.  My  father  died  before  I  was  born;  and 
my  mother  died  when  I  was  about  five  years  of  age ; 
after  which,  I  was  bound  to  a  Tailor  to  learn  the  trade. 
Shortly  after  I  had  entered  into  my  new  situation,  my 
master  removed  to  Charleston,  S.  C.  and  took  me  with 
him.  After  I  had  remained  in  his  family  about  two 
years,  my  mind  became  restless;  and  I  eloped  from  my 
master  and  his  service.  1  made  my  way  for  Little 
York,  in  Pennsylvania  ;  and  when  I  arrived  there,  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  I  was  not  properly  able  to 
take  care  of  myself,  and  bound  myself  to  a  farmer  for 
the  term  of  four  years  ;  which  time  I  served  out  with 
becoming  fortitude  and  agility.  [When  my  time  of 
service  was  out,  and  I  was  free  from  my  master,  I 
bent  my  course  to  Fort  Pitt  now  Pittsburg;^  and  hired 

'A  fort — Diiquesne — was  built  at  the  point  in  the  forks  of  the 

Alleghany  and  Monongahela  rivers  where  they  form  the  Ohio,  by 

(ix) 


lo  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 


m 


yself    to    an    Indian    trader.      Our    first    rout,   from 


the  French  at  the  commencement  of  the  old  French  war,  but  was 
burned  by  them  in  175S,  immediately  before  the  occupation  of 
the  place  by  the  British,  under  General  Forbes.  It  was  a  strong 
fortification  of  earth  and  wood  stockaded.  In  December,  1758) 
the  British  erected  a  small  stockade,  with  bastions,  within  two 
hundred  yards  of  the  ruins  of  the  French  post.  The  next  year, 
however,  was  commenced  a  more  formidable  fortification.  It  was 
near  the  site  of  Fort  Duquesne,  and  was  named  Fort  Pitt.  It  re- 
mained in  possession  of  a  British  force  until  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1773,  when  it  was  abandoned  and  considerably,  though  not 
wholly,  destroyed.  During  the  year  1773,  a  citizen  of  Pittsburgh — 
Edward  Ward — had  possession  of  what  was  left.  It  was,  in 
1774,  reoccupied  and  somewhat  repaired  by  Captain  John  Con- 
oUy,  under  orders  from  Lord  Dunmore,  as  a  Virginia  post,  and 
its  name  changed  to  Fort  Dunmore,  though  the  Pennsylvanians 
still  adhered  to  "  Fort  Pitt,"  which  name  was  fully  restored  when 
Dunmore  became  odious  to  Virginia.  It  was  vacated  by  ConoUy 
just  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution.  Its  first  occupation 
after  that  struggle  began  was  by  Virginia  troops  under  Captain 
John  Neville,  in  i775'  who  were  superceded  early  in  1777  by 
others  raised  in  the  immediate  neisfhborhood.  Following:  these 
was  a  continental  garrison,  first  under  Brigadier-General  Ed- 
ward Hand,  afterward  under  Brigadier-General  Lachlan  Mc- 
intosh, whose  successor  was  Colonel  Daniel  Brodhead,  fol- 
lowed by  Colonel  John  Gibson,  the  latter  being  succeeded  by 
Brigadier-General  William  Irvine,  who  remained  in  command 
until  October  i,  1783-  The  post  was  then  put  under  the  charge 
of  Captain  Joseph  Marbury,  who  occupied  it  with  a  small 
force  for  a  brief  season.  His  successor  was  Lieutenant  D. 
Luckett ;  the  latter  turned  it  over  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Josiah 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  1 1 

thence,  was  to  New  Lancaster,  (then  an  Indian  Town,) 
in    the    State    of  Ohio ;  ^    and    after   being   there   some 

Harmar,  and  it  became  little  else  than  a  government  storehouse 
from  this  time  on  to  its  final  abandonment. 

The  words  ''  now  Pittsburg"  imply  that,  at  the  time  of  Leith's 
arrival  at  Fort  Pitt,  there  was  no  town  known  as  Pittsburgh 
there;  but  this  is  erroneous,  as  a  "burgh"  thus  named  had  had 
an  existence  at  that  point  quite  as  long  as  the  fort.  A  writer, 
speaking  of  both  at  about  the  date  of  Leith's  reaching  Fort  Pitt, 
says : 

"At  this  time  [June,  1772]  the  fortification  [Fort  Pitt]  was  re- 
maining, but  somewhat  impaired.  Here  were  about  eighty  sol- 
diers, with  one  commanding  officer.  It  is  said  the  erecting  of 
this  fort  cost  the  Crown  £100,000  sterling;  by  some  orders  in 
the  fall,  it  was  demolished  and  abandoned.  East  at  about  two 
hundred  yards  distance,  by  the  Monongahela,  there  is  a  small 
town  [Pittsburgh],  chiefly  inhabited  by  Indian  traders  and  some 
mechanics.  The  army  was  without  a  chaplain,  nor  was  the  town 
supplied  with  any  minister.  Part  of  the  inhabitants  are  agreeable 
and  worthy  of  regard,  while  others  are  lamentably  dissolute  in 
their  morals." — -Jones'  youtvial,  p.  20.  Such  was  Pittsburgh  one 
hundred  and  ten  years  ago. 

^  It  would  have  been  nearer  correct  had  he  said  "  the  present 
Lancaster  (then  an  Indian  town  called  the  Standing  Stone,  in 
English),  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio." 

In  the  fall  of  iSoo,  Ebenezer  Zane  laid  out  a  town  on  the 
Hockhocking  river,  in  what  is  now  Fairfield  county,  O.,  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  of  New  Lancaster.  It  retained  that  name 
legally  until  1S05,  when,  by  an  act  of  the  legislatin-e,  the  word 
"  New"  was  dropped  ;  but  the  place  continued  to  be  called  by  its 
original  name  long  after  by  the  early  settlers.     Near  by  stands  a 


12  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

length   of  time,   in    his  employ,   having   the    care    and 
oversight  of  his   goods,    I    was    taken   prisoner  by   the 
Delaware     Indians/    in     the    following    manner,    when 
about   seventeen    years    of  age : — On    the    loth    day   of 
April,  1772,'  when  my  employer  had  been  from   home 

bold  eminence,  which,  at  an   early  day,  gave  the   name   of  the 
Standing  Stone  to  a  Delaware  Indian  village  located  there. 

The  Rev.  David  Jones  was  here  on  Tuesday,  February  9,  i773- 
He  says  :  "  Before  nine  o'clock,  came  safe  to  Mr.  McCormick's, 
at  the  Standing  Stone.  This  town  consists  chiefly  of  Delaware 
Indians.  It  is  situated  on  a  creek  called  Hockhocking.  The 
soil  about  this  [place]  is  equal  to  the  highest  wishes,  but  the  creek 
appears  muddy.  Though  it  is  not  wide,  yet  it  soon  admits  large 
canoes,  and  from  hence  peltry  is  transmitted  to  Fort  Pitt.  Over- 
took here  Mr.  David  Duncan,  a  trader  from  Shippen's  town,  who 
was  going  to  Fort  Pitt." — Jones'  yournal,  p.  S6. 

Lancaster  (as  it  is  now  called),  the  capital  of  Fairfield  county, 
Ohio,  is  situated  on  the  Hocking  river  and  the  Hocking  canal, 
thii"ty-two  miles  southeast  of  Columbus,  one  hundred  and  sixteen 
miles  east  northeast  of  Cincinnati,  and  fifty- two  miles  west  south- 
west of  Zanesville.  It  is  on  the  Columbus  and  Hocking  Valley 
railroad  where  it  crosses  the  Cincinnati  and  Muskingum  Valley 
railroad. 

'The  Standing  Stone  (now  Lancaster,  Ohio,)  was  the  farthest 
town  to  the  southwest  inhabited  by  Delaware  Indians  at  this  date. 
From  this  point  northeast  was  Delaware  territory  (as  claimed  by 
that  tribe)  well  up  to  Pittsburgh.  Their  principal  town  was 
Coshocton,  on  the  Muskingum  river,  the  site  of  the  town  of 
that  name,  county-seat  of  Coshocton  county,  Ohio. 

^  This  date  is  incorrect,  as  shown  by  what  follows.  The  year 
was  1774. 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  13 

two  weeks,  I  was  lying  on  some  skins  in  my  em- 
ployer's store;  an  Indian  boy  came  to  me,  and  told  [6] 
me  his  father  wanted  to  see  me.  I  went  with  him; 
and  when  I  came  to  the  old  man,  he  showed  me  a  place 
to  sit  down.  I  took  my  seat  with  much  wonder  and  sur- 
prise. As  I  could  not  yet  understand  Indian  language, 
the  old  Indian  having  a  white  woman  for  his  wife,^  made 
her  interpreter  for  us.  [He  began  with  asking  me  if 
I  had  heard  the  news  that  a  war  had  broken  out  be- 
tween the  whites  and  Indians;  that  the  Shawnees"  had 
killed  seven  white  men,  and  taken  four  prisoners  ;^ 
that  the  Virginians  had  taken    Mingo  Town,  at  Cross 

*By  this  it  will  be  seen  that  two  years  before  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Revolution,  what  is  now  Lancaster,  Ohio,  had  at  least 
one  white  resident  who  was  not  a  trader.  Of  her  history,  nothing 
whatever  is  known. 

^The  Shawanese,  in  1774,  had  their  homes  in  a  number  of 
villages  upon  the  waters  of  the  Scioto  river  and  beyond,  in 
what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio  ;  but  there  were  outlying  towns 
of  theirs  to  the  eastward  as  far  as  the  Muskingum  below 
Coshocton.  The  "  Pickaway  plains"  may  be  considered  as  hav- 
ing been,  at  that  date,  about  the  center  of  their  territory. 

^  It  is  now  impossible  to  say  exactly  what  act  of  hostility  is 
here  referred  to  as  being  the  first  on  the  list  of  those  result- 
insr  in  what  is  known  as  Lord  Dunmore's  war.  But  the  im- 
portance  of  the  statement  consists  in  the  assertion  that  the 
Shawanese  were  the  aggressors-^the  first  to  commence  the 
work  of  death. 


^ 


14  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

Creek,  on  the  Ohio  River/_[  I  answered  him,  that  I 
had  heard  nothing  of  it.  He  asked  me  what  I 
thought  of  the  matter.  With  a  trembling  heart  I 
informed  him,  I  knew  not  what  to  think  of  it ;  that 
I  had  never  done  them  any  harm  ;  I  had  no  hand 
in  the  matter,  and  hoped  they  would  take  care  of 
me.  He  then  told  me  to  rise  and  stand  up  on  my 
feet.  With  the  fearful  expectation  he  intended  to 
kill  me  immediately,  I  arose,  and  stood  before  him. 
He  then  proceeded, — "Your  mother  has  risen  from 
the  dead  to  give  you  suck;"  at  the  same  time  point- 
ing to  his  wife's  breast;  then  laid  his  hand  on  his 
own  breast,  and  said, — "  Your  father  has  also  arisen 
to  take  care  of  you,  and  you  need  not  be  afraid,  for 
I  will  be  a  father  to  you,"  He  then  embraced  my 
neck,  and  called  the  chiefs  around  him  ;  when  they 
proceeded  to  divide  the  store-goods,  spirits,  and  all 
that   I   had  care  of,   among  themselves." 

VJ"  The  Mingo  town  mentioned  above  was  on  wliat  was 
known  as  the  Mingo  bottom,  just  below  the  present  Steubea- 
ville,  Jefferson  county,  Ohio.  The  town  was  not  taken  by 
the  Virginians  as  the  Dchiware  chief  supposed ;  but  the 
Mingoes,  immediately  after  the  killing  of  Logan's  relatives 
and  other  Indians,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Yellow  creek,  on 
the  30th  of  April,  1774,  by  Greathouse  and  paity,  left  the 
Ohio  river  never  to  return// 

-This  fact  has  an  important  bearing  upon  the  question  as 
to  the  disposition  of  the  Delawares  towaids  the  white  traders, 
at  the  first  report  of  war  existing  between  the  Shawanese  and 


Biography  of  John  LeeiJi.  i  5 

The  same  fall,  General  Dunmore,^  a  British  officer, 
came  out  against  the  Indians,  with  a  considerable 
army  of  whites;'"  and  after  a  variety  of  skirmishing 
and   manoeuvreing,  a  decisive  battle  was  fought  at  the 

Mnigocs  on  the  one  side  and  the  Virginians  on  the  other. 
The  Delawares  as  a  tribe  were  not  drawn  into  the  conflict. 
The  confiscation  of  the  goods  belonging  to  the  trader  at  tlie 
Standing  Stone,  in  care  of  Leith,  would  probably  not  have 
taken  place  in  any  other  of  the  Delaware  villages  ;  but  there 
Shawanese  influence  was  predominant. 

^John  Murray,  4th  Earl  of  Dunmore,  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative peers  ot  Scotland,  was,  at  that  date,  governor  of 
Virginia. 

''In  July,  1774,  Major  Angus  McDonald  arrived  over  the 
mountains  with  a  considerable  force  of  Virginia  militia,  which, 
when  embodied  with  those  already  raised  in  the  West,  amounted 
to  seven  hundred  men.  McDonald  went  down  the  Ohio  as 
far  as  Wheeling,  in  order  to  take  command,  as  there  the  whole 
force  rendezvoused.  A  stockade  fort  (Fort  Fincastle)  was 
erected  under  the  joint  directions  of  Major  McDonald  and 
Captain  William    Crawford. 

On  the  26th  of  July,  about  four  hundred  men,  having  left 
Wheeling,  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Fish  creek,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Ohio,  twenty-four  miles  below.  Here  they  de- 
termined to  move  against  the  Shawanese  villages  upon  the 
Muskingum  river,  in  what  is  now  Muskingum  county,  Ohio. 
The  men  were  led  by  Major  McDonald.  Captain  Crawford 
remained  in  command  at  Fort  Fincastle.  The  expedition 
proved  successful.  Wakatomica  (near  what  is  now  Dresden, 
Ohio,)   and   other   Shawanese   towns  were  destroyed,  and  con- 


1 6  Biog7^aphy  of  John  Leeth. 

mouth  of  the  Big  Kenhawa  ;^  the  Indians  retreated 
with  the  loss  of  about  twenty-five;  the  army  pursued 
and  overtook  them  while  they  were  crossing  the  river, 
and  killed  about  twenty-five  more;  after  which  the 
Indians  returned  to  their  habitations,  and  gave  up 
the    contest    for    that    time.^      Some    time    after,    news 

siderable  plunder  secured.  This  was  the  first  effective  blow 
struck  by  Virginia  troops  in  Lord  Dunmore's  war. 

Lord  Dunmore  left  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  July  lO,  i774) 
for  the  frontiers,  reaching  Fredericksburg  on  the  i^th  and  Win- 
chester some  days  after.  Here  he  remained  some  time,  to  get 
in  order  as  many  men  as  possible  for  service  against  the  savages. 
Such  as  v\^ere  raised  in  the  counties  of  Frederick,  Berkeley, 
and  Dunmore  were  put  under  the  command  of  Adam  Stephen 
as  colonel.  About  the  end  of  August  they  marched  for  Pitts- 
burgh, accompanied  by  his  Lordship.  On  the  last  day  of 
September,  Dunmore  reached  Wheeling  with  twelve  hundred 
men.  Major  (previously  Captain)  Crawford,  with  five  hundred, 
was  sent  in  advance  to  the  mouth  of  the  Hocking  river,  where 
he  commenced  the  erection  of  a  stockade,  which  received  the 
name  of  Fort  Gower,  Duinnore  arriving  with  the  residue  of 
his  men  in  time  to  take  part  in  its  construction.  Here  we  will 
leave  him  for  the  present. 

^  By  Big  Kenhawa  is  meant  the  river  now  known  as  the 
Gieat   Kanawha. 

^  Before  Dunmore  left  Williamsburg  he  had  authorized  Colo- 
nel Andrew  Lewis  to  march  an  army  down  this  river  to  its 
mouth,  there  to  erect  a  fort ;  and  then  if  he  thought  proper  to 
attack  the  hostile  towns  of  the  savages  beyond  the  Ohio.  Lewis 
reached  his  point  of  destination,  where  he  was  unexpectedly 
attacked  by  the  Indians  (Shawanese,  Mingoes,   and  some   from 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  1 7 

came  that  Dun  more  was  marching  up  the  Hock- 
hocking   Ri[7]ver/  with  an  army  ;'-  when   some  of  the 

other  tribes)  on  (he  loth  of  October.  A  battle  ensued  which 
lasted  till  nightfall.  Lewis  claimed  the  victory,  but  suffered 
severely  in  killed  and  wounded.  This  is  the  conflict  known 
in  history  as  the  battle  of  Point  Pleasant. 

^  Hocking  river,  Ohio,  rises  in  Fairdeld  county,  runs  south- 
eastward through  Hocking  and  Athens  counties,  and  enters 
the  Ohio  riv'er  about  fourteen  miles  below  Parkersburg,  West 
Virginia.  The  chief  towns  on  its  banks  are  Lancaster,  Logan, 
and  Athens.     It  traverses  the  Ohio  coal-field. 

^  In  a  previous  note  we  left  Lord  Dunmore  with  his  army 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Hocking  river  assisting  Captain  Crawford 
in  finishing  "  Fort  Gower."  At  that  time  his  Lordship  was 
ignorant  as  to  whether  Colonel  Andrew  Lewis  with  his  men 
had  reached  the  Ohio,  a  message  sent  by  Dunmore  having 
arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha  in  advance  of  that 
officer.  Another  express  was  thereupon  dispatched,  which,  on 
the  8th  of  October,  1774,  found  Lewis  at  Point  Pleasant — the 
name  of  the  place  in  the  forks  of  the  Great  Kanawha  and  the 
Ohio.  His  orders  were  to  march  up  the  Ohio  and  join  Dun- 
more at  the  mouth  of  the  Hocking.  Meanwhile  scouts  had 
been  sent  by  him  to  Dunmore.  These  returned  to  Point  Pleas- 
ant on  the  13th  of  October,  three  days  after  the  battle  there, 
with  an  order  from  his  Lordship  (who  was  ignorant  of  what 
had  taken  place  between  Lewis'  force  and  the  savages)  to  march 
directly  toward  the  Shawanese  towns  upon  the  Scioto,  and  join 
him  at  a  certain  point  on  the  way. 

Lord  Dunmore  now  put  his  division  in  motion  up  the  Hock- 
ing river  for  the  same  destination  to  which  Lewis  had  been 
ordered,  namely,  the  Shawanese  towns.     It  was  just  at  this  time 


1 8  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

Indians  proposed  to  kill  me,  and  put  me  out  of  the 
way;  but  my  late  father,  (for  he  was  a  father  to  me  in- 
deed,) interfered,  and  prevented  their  horrid  intention. 
They  then  commenced  their  flight  from  the  Towns,  and 
took  me  with  them,  with  my  hands  bound  behind  my 
back  ;  they  took  me  a  long  and  wearisome  journey  to 
their  camp.^  Before  we  arrived  at  the  camp,  I  formed 
a  firm  and  settled  resolution  to  make  my  escape, 
if  any  opportunity  should  offer,  at  which  I  made 
several  attempts;  but  was  so  closely  watched,  that  all 
possibility  of  an  escape  was  utterly  abortive.  General 
Dunmore  marched  to  Shawnee  Town,  where  Chilli- 
cothe  now  is,"  where  he  received  a  letter  informing  him 
that  war  was  proclaimed  ;  and  not  thinking  himself  safe 
in  the  situation   he  was,  in   order  to   make  his  escape, 

that  news  was  received  upon  ihe  Scioto  by  the  Indians,  as  re- 
lated by  Leith,  of  the  advance  of  Dunmore  up  the  "  Hockhock- 
ing  river  with  an  army." 

^  Their  camp  was  doubtless  some  one  of  the  Shawanese  vil- 
lages upon  the  waters  either  of  tlie  Little  Miami  or  Great  Miami 
river,  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio. 

^Our  last  mention  of  Dunmore  was  to  the  effect  that  both 
divisions  of  his  army  were  marching  for  the  Shawanese  towns, — 
he  by  way  of  the  Hocking  river,  and  Lewis  across  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha.  His  Lordship  was  overtaken  on 
his  march  by  a  courier  from  Lewis,  informing  him  of  the  hard- 
fought  battle  with  the  Shawanese  and  Mingoes  at  Point  Pleasant, 
on  the  loth  of  October.  On  the  17th,  Lewis  crossed  the  Ohio, 
and,  agreeably  to  orders,  marched  directly  for  the  Scioto  to  join 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  \  9 

made  a  pretended  peace  with  the  Indians.^  After  the 
cessation  of  hostilities,  my  father  gave  me  and  his  two 
sons  our  freedom,  with  a  rifle,  two  pounds  of  powder, 
four  pounds  of  lead,  a  blanket,  shirt,  match-coat,  pair 
of  leggins,  &c.  to  each,  as  our  freedom  suits;  and  told 
us  to  shift  for  ourselves.  Having  my  freedom  to  act 
for  myself,  but  destined  to  remain  in  an  uncultivated 
wilderness,  where  no  voice  was  heard  but  the  yells  of 
savages,  the  howling  of  wolves,  and  the  dread  screams  of 

Dunmore.  A  junction  of  the  two  forces  occurred  before  the 
Scioto  was  actually  reached,  under  circumstances  soon  to  be 
related. 

Leith's  idea  was  that  Lord  Dunmore  actually  reached  the  spot 
now  the  site  of  the  ciiy  of  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  then  one  of  the 
Sliawanese  towns  ;  but  such  was  not  the  fact.  His  Lordship  was 
met,  before  he  reached  the  Indian  villages,  with  a  deputation  from 
the  enemy  aiixious  for  an  accommodation.  A  treaty  was  held  at 
*'  Camp  Charlotte,"  in  what  is  now  Pickaway  county,  Ohio, — some 
of  the  Shawanese  villages  being  in  the  immediate  vicinity  ;  but 
the  arrival  of  Lewis  and  his  gallant  troops,  fresh  from  the  red 
field  of  conflict  at  Point  Pleasant,  breathing  revenge  against  the 
savages,  was  an  element  diflicult  to  be  controlled  by  Dunmore. 
However,  no  order  was  intentionally  disobeyed  by  Lewis,  who 
was  commanded  to  return  with  his  division  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Kanawha. 

'  Leith's  information  was  singularly  inaccurate  as  to  the  peace 
entered  into  between  Dunmore  and  the  Indians.  He  (Leith)  was 
not  present  at  "  Camp  Charlotte"  at  the  time,  having  been  taken 
a  considerable  distance  to  the  westward,  as  is  just  before  explained 
by  himself     The  treaty  was  dictated  to  the  Shawanese  and  Min- 


20  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

the  panther;  no  cultivated  fields  or  lowing  herds,  nor 
any  prospect  for  the  support  of  life,  but  what  the  dreary- 
regions  of  a  wide  and  boundless  wilderness  presented, 
was  appalling  and  discouraging  ;^  and  what  added  hor- 
ror to  my  situation  was,  it  was  death  to  make  an  attempt 
at  seeking  a  more  hospitable  and  fruitful  clime  :  How- 
ever, Providence  smiled  on  me,  and  I  made  my  living 
by  hunting,  and  trading  with  the  Indians.  In  the  course 
of  about  two  years,  I  had  accumulated  a  considerable 

goes  by  Dunmore  ;  for  a  peace  had  already  been  conquered  by  the 
Virginians  at  a  sacrifice  of  many  vahiable  lives,  at  Point  Pleasant. 

The  stipulations  were  that  the  Shawanese  and  Mingoes  were  to 
give  up  all  the  prisoners  ever  taken  by  them  in  war  with  the  white 
people  still  remaining  in  their  possession  or  living  with  them  ; 
also,  all  negroes  and  all  the  horses  stolen  or  taken  by  them  since 
the  last  war.  And,  further,  no  Indian  was,  for  the  future,  to  hunt 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Ohio,  nor  any  white  man  on  the  west  side. 
As  a  guarantee,  on  the  part  of  the  savages,  of  the  fulfillment  of 
their  agreement,  they  were  to  give  up  four  of  their  chief  men  as 
hostages,  who  were  to  be  relieved  yearly,  or  as  they  might  choose. 
It  was  also  arranged  that  a  supplemental  treaty  should  be  held 
the  ensuing  spring  at  Pittsburgh.  However,  the  Mir.goes  were 
not  brought  fully  to  terms  until  their  towns  in  what  is  now 
Franklin  county,  Ohio,  had  been  destroyed  by  a  detachment  sent 
against  them  by  his  Lordship  under  Major  William  Crawford. 
With  hostages  to  insure  the  fulfillment  of  the  stipulations  of  the 
treaty,  Dunmore  retraced  his  steps  down  the  Hocking  river;  and 
the  war  was  ended. 

^  This  rhetorical  flourish  is  probably  to  be  charged  up  to  Mr. 
Jeff'ries. 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  ii 

property  in  skins,  furs,  &c.  perhaps  to  the  amount  of 
two  or  three  hundred  dollars,  spending  my  time  mostly 
in  some  useful  employment.^ 

About  two  years  from  the  time  of  my  freedom,  about 
twenty  Indians  came  from  another  tribe ;  and  while  I 
[8]  was  dealing  with  a  trader  and  his  assistant,  took  us 
all  prisoners  with  all  our  property.  They  took  me  a 
considerable  rout  through  the  wilderness;  and  after 
some  days  sold  me  to  another  nation  of  Indians.^  Soon 
after  I  was  sold,  my  purchaser  informed  me  he  did  not 
buy  me  for  the  purpose  of  enslaving  me;  it  was  only 
because  he  loved  me  and  wished  me  to  stay  with  him  ; 
and  gave  my  liberty  on  my  promise  not  to  leave  him.^ 
At  that  time  I  had  nothing  but  my  gun.  I  then 
set  out  once  more  to  shift  for  myself  in  the  woods; 
and  by  hunting  and  trading  that  fall  and  spring,* 
accumulated  furs  and  skins  to  the  amount  of  seventy 
or  seventy-five  dollars.^ 

^Although  the  narrator  was  free  to  act  for  himself,  his  connec- 
ticn  with  the  Dela wares  had  by  no  means  ceased. 

^  The  narrative  is  here  provoklngly  silent  as  to  the  names  of  the 
two  tribes  who  had,  in  succession,  their  white  prisoner  with  them. 
Certain  circumstances  induce  the  belief  that  the  first  mentioned 
was  the  Shawanese  tribe  ;  the  other,  the  Wyandot. 

'This  declaration  of  Leith's  purchaser  certainly  exhibits  that 
savage  in  a  very  amiable  light. 

*This  was  in  the  spring  of  i777- 

^It  seems  that,  among  other  places  visited  by  Leith,  the  valley 
of  the  Vernon  river,  in  what  is  now  the  central  part  of  the  State 


22  Biography  of  John  Leelh. 

About  this  time,  the  war  between  Great  Britain  and 
America,^  with  their  Indian  allies,"  was  at  its  height.  I 
went  with  some  of  the  Indian  traders  to  Detroit;^  and 
when  we  arrived  there,  the  British  had  the  command  and 
control  of  the  place,  furnishing  the  Indians  with  fire- 
arms, ammunition,  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife,  to 
assist  them  against  the  whites  of  America.  Having  by 
this  time  become  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  Indian 
language,^  and  inured  to  their  habits  and  customs,  I 
then  engaged  with  an  Indian  trader,  who  was  to  pay  me 

of  Ohio,  was  one  of  his  favorite  hunting-grounds  during  this 
period. 

During  the  summer  of  1S25,  Mr.  Leith  visited  the  family  of 
Lyman  W.  Gates'  father  in  Knox  county,  Ohio,  and  spent  some 
time  there.  Wishing  to  visit  Mt.  Vernon,  the  county-seat  of  that 
county,  Mr.  Gates'  father  accompanied  him.  Wlien  they  had 
reached  the  Gotshall  place,  Mr.  Leith  got  off' his  horse,  and  pointed 
out  the  places  where  he  had  lain  in  vvait  for  the  wild  animals  to 
come  and  drink,  and  where  he  shot  them.  He  also  pointed  out 
other  localities  along  the  road  where  he  had  hunted  successfully. 

Vernon  river  rises  in  the  present  county  of  Morrow,  Ohio,  runs 
eastward  through  Knox  county,  and  enters  the  Mohican  (or 
Walhonding)  river,  in  the  western  part  of  Coshocton  county. 

'Meaning,  of  course,  the  Revolution. 

'^That  is,  the  war  of  Great  Britain  and  her  Indian  allies  with 
America,  was,  etc. 

'This  was  in  the  year  1777.  Detroit  was  identical  with  the 
site  of  the  pre&ent  city  of  that  name,  the  metropolis  of  Michigan. 

*  Leith  means  evidently  the  Wyandot  language.  He  could,  of 
course,  speak  the  Delaware  also,  and  probably  the  Shawanese. 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  23 

seven  pounds  ten  shillings  per  month,  with  victuals  and 
clothing  exclusively.'  After  engaging  me,  my  employer 
returned  to  Sandusky,"  where  he  had  been  a  considerable 
time  engaged,  leaving  his  goods  with  me  to  take  on  by 
water,  across  the  Lake.  Fort  Detroit  was  then  under 
martial  law,"^  and  no  person  was  permitted  to  go  in  or 
out  without  a  pass  from  the   Governor'^  thereof.     When 

'The  word  ''exclusively"  is  liere  used  in  the  sense  of  "in- 
cluded." It  is  subsequently  employed  in  this  narrative,  having  the 
same  meaning.     The  trader's  name  was  Arundle. 

^  Lower  Sandusky,  now  the  site  of  Fremont,  in  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio. 

The  Sandusky  river,  on  which  Lower  Sandusky  was  situated, 
rises  in  Springfield  township,  Richland  county,  Ohio,  flowing  a 
southwesterly  course,  through  Crawford  county,  passing  into 
Wyandot  county,  a  little  over  two  miles  north  of  the  southeast 
corner.  Soon  after  it  sweeps  around  to  the  northward,  and,  fol- 
lowing generally  a  northerly  direction  through  that  county, 
enters  Seneca  county.  It  pursues  the  same  general  course 
through  Seneca  and  Sandusky  counties,  falling  into  the  head  of 
Sandusky  bay  about  eighty  miles,  by  the  course  of  the  stream, 
from  its  source. 

'  There  were  then  in  the  fort  four  companies  of  the  Eighth  (or 
King's)  regiment,  commanded  by  Captain  (afterward  Major)  R. 
B.  Lernoult ;  two  companies  of  Butler's  Rangers,  commanded  by 
Captain  William  Caldwell,  and  one  company  of  the  Forty-seventh 
regiment,  commanded  by  Captain  Thomas  Aubrey.  The  British 
also  had  a  small  navy,  which  commanded  the  lakes.  There  were, 
usually,  several  hundred  Indians  gathered  about  the  foit. 

*  Under  the  Qiiebec  act  of  1774,  Colonel  Henry  Hamilton, 
formerly  a  captain  in  the  Fifteenth  regiment,  was  appointed  by 


24  Biography  of  John  Leetk. 

I  had  made  my  arrangements  to  start  with  the  goods,  I 
went  to  the  Governor  for  a  pass,  informing  him  my  em- 
ployer had  left  orders  with  me  to  follow  on  after  him, 
with  the  goods.  He  asked  where  I  wanted  to  take 
them.  I  told  him  to  Sandusky.  He  then  asked  me  what 
my  employer  gave  me  per  month.  I  told  him.  He  said 
it  was  not  enough,  and  if  I  would  join  the  Indian  de- 
partment under  his  command,  he  would  give  me  two 

Governor  Carlton,  in  17755  "  Lieutenant-Governor  and  Superin- 
tendent of  Detroit  and  its  Dependencies,"  including  the  entire 
Northwest.  He  had  doubtless  been  selected  because  of  his  ca- 
pacity, energy,  and  zeal,  and  with  reference  to  the  impending  diffi- 
culties between  the  colonies  and  the  mother  country.  Henceforth, 
and  during  the  entire  Revolution,  Detroit  was  the  center  of  British 
power  in  the  Northwest.  The  relentless  and  cruel  Indian  war- 
fare that  was  carried  on  against  the  border  settlements  of  Penn- 
sylvania, Virginia,  and  Kentucky  received  its  inspiration  and 
direction  from  this  point. 

In  the  latter  part  of  winter,  or  early  in  the  spring  of  that  year 
(that  is,  1777)'  Governor  Hamilton  sent  a  war  hatchet,  wrapped 
in  a  belt  of  red  and  white  beads,  to  the  Ohio  Indians.  It  was 
accepted  by  the  Wyandots  and  Shaw^anese,  but  rejected  by  the 
Delavsares.  Its  effect  was  at  once  apparent.  On  tlie  6th  of 
March,  a  large  party  of  Indians  appeared  before  Harrodsburgh, 
in  Kentucky.  On  the  24th  of  April,  Boonsborough  was  attacked, 
and  again  on  the  23d  of  May  ;  and,  on  the  30th  of  May,  Logan's 
fort.  On  the  27th  of  July,  Hamilton  reported  to  Secretary  Ger- 
maine  that  he  had  already  sent  out  fifteen  several  parties  of  In- 
dians, consisting  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  braves,  with 
thirty  white  officers  and  rangers,  to  prowl  on  the  frontiers  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 


Biography  of  Jo  hi  Leeth.  25 

dollars  per  [9]  day/  and  one  and  a  half  rations  exclu- 
sively." I  then  asked  him  what  he  wanted  me  to  do. 
He  answered,  he  wanted  me  to  interpret  for  them,  and 
sometimes  go  to  war  with  them,  against  their  enemies;^ 
observing,  as  I  understood  both   languages,'*  I  would  be 

'The  following  was  the  pay  of"  Officers,  Inspectors,  Smiths, 
etc.,  in  the  Indian  Department  at  Detroit,  October  24,  1779  •" 
Duperon  Baby,  Alexander  McKee,  Isadore  Chene,  Charles  Beau- 
bien  (each  under  pay  at  ten  shillings  sterling  per  day)  ;  Mat- 
thew Elliott,  Simon  Girty,  James  Girty,  George  Girty,  Pierre 
Drouillard,  William  Tucker,  Robert  Surplus,  Fontenoy  Dequin- 
dre  (each  sixteen  shillings,  York  currency,  per  dayj  ;  Nicolas 
Loraine  (ten  shillings,  York  currency)  ;  Jeancaire  Chabert  (eight 
shillings,  York  currency,  and  ten  shillings  sterling  from  24th 
March)  ;  Claud  Lubute,  Henry  Baby,  Francis  Diel,  Dnplessis, 
La  Seuexe,  Gregor  McGregor,  Sampson  Fleming,  Charles  Guion, 
Thomas  McCarly.  24^//  yune — Francis  L'Coellie,  D.  Dequindre 
(each  eight  shillings,  York,  per  day)  ;  John  Mackay  (four  shil- 
lings, York).  Leith's  pay  as  interpreter  would  have  been  the 
same  as  that  of  Simon  Girty,  who  was  thus  employed. 

^  The  word  "  exclusively  "  is  here  used,  as  once  before  by  Leith 
in  this  narrative,  for  "  included." 

'Just  what  Lieutenant-Governor  Hamilton  desired  of  his  inter- 
preter is  here  explicitly  given.  It  was  not  only  "  to  interpret  for 
them  "  (that  is,  for  the  Indians  then  in  alliance  with  Great  Brit- 
ain), but  "  sometimes  to  go  to  war  with  them  against  their  ene- 
mies ;"  that  is,  against  the  frontier  settlements  of  Pennsylvania, 
Virginia,  and  Kentucky.  To  go  to  war  with  them  meant,  of 
course,  to  take  up  the  hatchet  in  true  Indian  style — to  kill  indis- 
criminately men,  women,  and  children. 

*  That  is,  the  Shawanese  and  Wyandot  tongues,  else  he  would 


26  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

of  peculiar  service  to  them.  This  so  affrighted  and 
confused  me,  that  I  did  not  know  what  answer  to  give 
him  ;  but  told  him,  as  an  excuse,  that  I  was  a  very 
unhealthy,  weakly  youth,  and  not  able  to  perform  such 
services.  He  then  requested  me  to  go  to  him  the  next 
morning,  at  nine  o'clock;  accordingly,  I  went  at  that 
hour.  He  then  enquired  if  I  had  considered  of  the 
offer  he  had  made  me  the  evening  before.  I  told  him 
I  had;  and  urged  the  same  excuse  for  not  complying 
with  it.  He  answered, — "  If  you  are  not  fit  for  the 
service,  you  are  not  fit  for  Sandusky  ;  and  you  will 
stay  where  you  are."  My  employer  had  a  partner^  in 
the  Fort;  and  I  consulted  him  on  the  matter.  I  told 
him  he  had  better  give  me  a  discharge,  as  the  Gov- 
ernor would  not  let  me  go.  He  answered  he  would 
not  discharge  me,  but  would  wait  the  result  of  the 
matter  ;  until  which  time  he  would  board  me  at 
Forsyth's  Tavern  ;^  and  if  I  got  my  wages,  I  need 
not  care  where  I  was.  I  acquiesced  to  the  proposi- 
tion, and  went  there  to  board.  After  some  time 
elapsed,  while  in  that  situation,  as  I  was  sitting  in 
one    of    the    lower    rooms,    lamenting    my    condition, 

not  have  been  engaged  to  trade  at  Sandusky,  which  was  a  Wyan- 
dot town,  where  the  Shawanese  also  frequently  brought  their 
peltry.  Leith  could  also  speak  the  Delaware  language  ;  but  this 
tribe  had  not  yet  left  the  Muskingum  and  Tuscarawas. 

'  One  Robbins. 

^  The  principal  hostelry  at  that  date  in  Detroit. 


Biography  of  Jo/m  Leeth.  27 

lest  some  sad  misfortune  should  befall  me,  I  heard 
some  men  enter  the  house  above;  they  inquired  of 
the  landlady  if  there  was  a  man  by  the  name  of  Leeth 
boarding  there.  She  answered  in  the  affirmative ;  and 
they  observed,  they  would  be  glad  to  see  him.  She 
came  down  and  informed  me,  that  some  gentlemen 
above  wished  to  see  me ;  and  requested  I  would  go 
up.  I  answered  her,  that  I  was  afraid  their  visit  por- 
tended no  good  to  me,  and  I  was  in  a  peculiar  situation, 
and  felt  some  fears  in  going  up.  She  informed  me,  they 
were  very  clever  gentlemen,  and  I  need  not  fear  to  go  up  : 
upon  which,  I  went  with  her  into  the  room.  On  my  ar- 
rival in  the  room,  they  presented  me  with  a  [10]  chair — 
I  sat  down.  They  then,  with  the  utmost  complaisance 
and  affability,  presented  me  with  some  wine  ;^  my  mind 
being  considerably  on   the  alert,  and  not   knowing  their 

'  There  seems  to  have  been  an  abundance  of  wine  in  Detroit 
during  the  Revohition.  Not  long  subsequent  to  the  incident 
narrated  above,  the  commanding  officer  at  that  post  was  fur- 
nished with  four  casks  of  Madeira,  of  li^  gallons  each,  at  forty 
shillings  per  gallon,  and  one  cask  of  red  port,  of  thirty  gallons, 
at  thirty  shillings.  Other  gentlemen  were  frequently  supplied 
with  wine  bv  the  cask.  In  striking  contrast  with  this  was  its 
scarcity  in  the  Fort  Pitt  (Pittsburgh)  region  during  that  conflict. 
In  a  letter  from  James  Marshel,  lieutenant  of  Washington 
county,  Pennsylvania,  to  Brigadier-General  William  Irvine, 
commanding  that  post  and  its  dependencies,  dated  May  29, 
1782,  the  writer  says:  ''I  have  been  asked  by  a  Presbyterian 
minister  and  some  of  his  people  to   request   you   to  spare  one 


28  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

intentions  towards  me,  I  refused  to  take  any  for  some 
time;  but  at  length,  through  their  friendly  persua- 
sions, I  consented  and  took  some.  After  this  cere- 
mony was  over,  they  informed  me  that  they  had  un- 
derstood the  Governor  had  refused  to  give  me  a  pass, 
and  I  was  then  detained,  though  on  wages,  against  my 
will.  I  answered  in  the  affirmative;  when  they  let 
fall  a  volley  of  curses  on  him,  and  advised  me  not 
to  yield  to  him;  but  continue  in  the  Fort.  "  It  may 
be,"  said  they,  "  you  do  not  like  to  board  at  the 
Tavern  ;  if  not,  and  you  had  rather  be  at  a  private 
house,  preparation  shall  be  made  for  you  to  live  with 
us."  Their  complaisance  won  my  affections  ;  and  I 
accepted  their  offer.  They,  being  traders  also,  em- 
ployed me  to  spy  around  the  town,  and  when  any 
Indians  brought  skins,  furs,  &c.  to  market  to  deal 
for  them,  in  their  behalf,  as  I  understood  the  Indian 
language,  and  had  a  better  opportunity  of  trafficking 
in  that  way,  than  themselves;  for  which  rhey  gave  me 
from  two  to  five  dollars  per  day,  for  ten  weeks  ;  dur- 
ing  which   time,    I    was   confined   to  the    Fort.^ 

One   day,    while   detained    in    the   Fort,    I    observed 

gallon  of  wine  for  the  use  of  a  sacrament.  If  it  is  in  your 
power  to  supply  them  with  this  article,  I  make  no  doubt  you 
will  do  it,  as  it  can  not  be  obtained  in  any  other  place  in  this 
country."  (  Washingto7i- Irvine  Correspondence.  Madison,  Wis. : 
David  Atwood,  1SS2,  p.  290). 

'  Leith's  meaning  here  is  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  leave  Detroit. 


Biography  of  John  Leeth. 


some  soldiers  drawing  the  cannon  out  of  the  Fort, 
and  placing  them  on  the  bank  of  the  River;'  and 
whilst  I  was  ruminating  in  my  mind,  what  could  be 
the  meaning  of  this  singular  mancEuvre,  a  young  silver- 
smith, with  whom  I  was  intimately  acquainted,  came 
and  asked  me  to  walk  with  him,  and  see  them  fire  the 
cannon.  I  walked  with  him  to  the  place  where  they 
had  carried  them.  When  we  arrived  there,  we  found 
Governor  Hamilton,  and  several  other  British  officers, 
who  were  standing  and  sitting  around.  Immediately 
after  our  arrival  at  the  place,  the  Indians  produced  a 
large  quantity  of  scalps;'^  the  cannon  fired,  the  Indians 
raised  a  shout,  and  the  soldiers  waved  their  hats,  with 
huzzas  and  tremendous  shrieks,  which  lasted  some 
[ii]  time.''  This  ceremony  being  ended,  the  Indians 
brought  forward  a  parcel  of  American  prisoners,  as  a 
trophy  of  their  victories;  among  whom,  were  eighteen 
women  and  children,  poor  creatures,  dreadtully  mangled 
and   emaciated  ;    with  their  clothes  tattered  and   torn  to 


1 


The  stream  spoken  of  by  Leith  was,  of  course,  the  Detroit 


river 


That  these  were  scalps  of  men,  women,  and  children,  torn 
from  the  heads  of  inoffensive  settlers  who  had  fallen  victims  to 
savage  cruelty,  is  certain  ;  and  it  is  equally  certain  that,  for  these 
scalps,  the  savages  were  paid  rewards  by  Hamilton. 

^  This  plain,  unvarnished  statement  shows,  beyond  all  ques- 
tion, the  hideousness,  the  cruelty,  the  savageness  with  which  the 
war  was  carried  on  by  the  British  from  Detroit  and  its  de- 
pendencies against  the  border  settlements. 


30  Biography  of  John   Leeth. 

pieces,  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  hide  their  nakedness ; 
their  legs  bare  and  streaming  with  blood  ;  the  effects  of 
being  torn  with  thorns,  briars  and  brush. ^ 

To  see  these  poor  creatures  dragged,  like  sheep  to 
the  slaughter,  along  the  British  lines,  caused  my  heart 
to  shrink  with  throbbings,  and  my  hair  to  rise  with 
rage;  and  if  ever  I  committed  murder  in  my  heart,  it 
was  then,  for  if  I  had  had  an  opportunity,  and  been 
supported  with  strength,  I  should  certainly  have  killed 
the  Governor,  who  seemed  to  take  great  delight  in  the 
exhibition.-  My  business  hurried  me  from  this  horrible 
scene,  and  I  know  not  what  became  of  those  poor 
wretches,  who  were  the  miserable  victims  of  savage 
power. 

Every  man  in  the  Fort,  capable  of  bearing  arms,  was 
trained  twice  a  week,  while  I  remained  there. — I  was 
taken    with    them    one    evening  on    parade,   and    there 

'  No  one  can  doubt  for  a  moment  the  truthfulness  of  this  sad 
recital ;  but  the  most  horrible  part  of  the  picture  was  hidden  from 
the  narrator's  view.  The  frightful  tortures  at  the  stake  of  un- 
happy prisoners — what  words  can  describe  those  savage  scenes 
of  daily  occurrence  in  the  wilderness  during  the  Revolution  ! 

^If  additional  testimony  were  required  to  fix  upon  the  memory 
of  Lieutenant-Governor  Henry  Hamilton  the  stamp  of  most  bar- 
barous cruelty,  this  one  declaration  of  Leith's  that  "  he  seemed 
to  take  great  delight  in  the  exhibition,"  would  suffice  ;  no  more, 
certainly,  is  needed.  To  those  writers  who  would  fain  attempt 
to  mitigate  the  atrocity  of  his  conduct,  the  above  positive  assertion 
of  an  eyewitness  is  commended  for  their  careful  consideration. 


Biography  of  John  Leelh.  3  i 

seemed  to  be  a  kind  of  providence  in  it,  for  it  was  the 
means  of  my  not  being  draughted,  as,  on  that  day,  I 
was  taken  with  the  ague  and  fever,  and  was  not  fit  for 
service.  My  employers  were  very  kind  to  me,  and  paid 
every  attention  in  their  power.  On  the  next  morning, 
between  daylight  and  sunrise,  the  drums  beat  to  arms, 
when  my  two  employers  rose  immediately,  dressed 
themselves,  and  obeyed  the  call.  I,  also,  took  my 
rifle  and  followed.  One  of  them  observing  me,  asked 
me  where  I  was  going.  I  answered,  I  supposed  I  must 
go  on  parade  with  them.  They  advised  me  to  go  back 
and  go  to  bed,  for  there  would  be  a  general  draught 
that  day,  and  that  I  would  be  the  first  man  draughted, 
if  I  were  found  in  the  ranks.  I  went  back  and  did  as 
they  directed  me,  and  with  fears,  and  awful  apprehen- 
sions, waited  their  return.  About  10  o'clock,  they  re- 
turned, and  said  they  had  told  me  [12]  in  the  morning 
I  would  be  the  first  man  called  in  the  draught,  which 
was  truly  the  case,  but  said  they  answered  to  my  name, 
and  informed  the  Governor  that  I  was  lying  sick  at 
their  house;  and  he  made  no  reply.  I  remained  with 
them  for  three  weeks  more,  under  partly  pretended,  and 
partly  real  sickness  ;  at  the  end  of  which  time,  my  old 
employer's  partner^  came  to  my  habitation,  and  in- 
formed me  that  a  favorable  opportunity  then  offered 
itself  for  me  to  leave   the  Fort,  and  if  I  would  make 

^  Whose  name,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  Robbins. 


32  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

application  to  the  Governor,  I  might  probably  get  a 
pass.  I,  accordingly,  waited  on  the  Governor,  and  told 
him  I  had  remained  a  considerable  time  in  the  Fort,  with 
my  employer's  goods,  and  should  be  very  glad  to  have 
an  opportunity  of  taking  them  to  the  place  of  destina- 
tion, which  I  could  not  do  without  his  signature  to  a 
pass,  which  would  permit  me  to  leave  the  Fort.  He 
asked  me  when  I  would  be  ready  to  start.  I  told  him 
if  I  could  obtain  his  permission,  I  would  be  ready  to 
start  the  next  morning.  He  then  asked  me  if  I  would 
take  some  provisions  with  me.  I  enquired  how  much 
he  wanted  taken.  He  answered,  four  barrels  of  flour 
and  two  of  pork,  which  he  wanted  left  on  the  way.  I 
answered  him,  my  Boat  would  be  considerably  crowded, 
but  I  could  take  that  quantity.  On  that  condition,  he 
gave  me  liberty  to  go,  and  sent  his  provisions  on  board 
the  Boat  the  same  evening.  As  I  passed  the  door,  go- 
ing out  of  his  ofiice,  the  guard  observed  to  me,  now 
you  will  have  to  go  to  the  Chief  Justice,^  and  procure 
a  certificate,  before  your  pass  is  valid.      1  then  went  to 

^Philip  Dejain.  On  the  24th  day  of  April,  1767,  Captain 
George  Trumbull,  of  the  60th  (or  Royal  American)  regiment, 
commandant  of  Detroit  and  its  dependencies,  issued  a  commis- 
sion to  him  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  notary.  He  also  received 
another  commission  on  the  2Slh  of  July  following  from  Robert 
Bayard,  major,  commanding  at  that  post.  Dejain  was  a  mer- 
chant who  had  been  unfortunate  in  his  business.  He  spoke  both 
English  and  French. 


Biography  of  Jo/m  Leeih.  i^Z 

him,  and  asked  him  for  a  certificate,  on  which  he  asked 
me  where  was  my  bail.  I  informed  him  I  had  no  bail 
procured,  nor  did  I  know  there  was  any  needed  under 
such  circumstances. — "  Well,"  said  he,  "  you  can  not  go 
until  you  furnish  bail,  neither  can  I  give  you  a  certifi- 
cate." ^  I  then  went  to  my  employer's  partner,  and  in- 
formed him  that  matters  stood  worse  with  me  than  ever, 
for  I  could  not  get  oflF  without  giving  bail  in  the  sum 
of  five  hundred  pounds  sterling,  which  I  had  no  idea  I 
could  do,  and  [13]  must  still  remain  in  the  Fort.  He 
then  observed  he  would  go  my  bail.  He  went  with 
me  to  the  Chief  Justice,  entered  bail  for  me,  and 
I  obtained  a  certificate.^  Having  procured  the  proper 
documents  for  my  departure,  I  set  sail  next  morning, 
with  two  hands  beside  myself,  and  on  the  third  day  ar- 
rived at  Sandusky,-  where  I  found  my  employer  in  good 

'  As  will  soon  be  shown,  Leilh  had  but  little,  if  any,  idea  of 
the  conditions  of  the  bond. 

'^In  going  from  Detroit  to  Lower  Sandusky  by  water,  Leith 
sailed  down  the  Detroit  river,  across  the  west  end  of  Lake  Erie, 
into  Sandusky  bay,  and  up  the  bay  and  Sandusky  river  to  his 
point  of  destination — the  lower  Wyandot  town  upon  that  river. 
This  point  during  the  Revolution  was  the  port  of  entry  for  sup- 
plies for  the  Wyandots,  Shawanese  and  Mingoes,  and,  before  the 
close  of  the  war,  for  the  Delawares  also.  Here,  too,  British  sol- 
diers, officers  and  employes  of  the  British  Lidian  department, 
and,  as  we  have  seen,  British  traders,  made  their  first  landing  on 
their  way  to  those  tribes  from  Detroit. 


34  Biography  of  John   Leeth. 

health,  anxiously  waiting  my  arrival.  I  continued  with 
him,  and  in  his  employ,  until  about  the  middle  of  Oc- 
tober^ following;  when,  one  morning,  he  appeared  to 
have  some  very  serious  reflections;  and  after  a  deep 
study,  observed  to  me,  we  should  have  to  go  to  Detroit 
in  a  few  days.  I  informed  him,  that  the  situation  of 
the  place  was  about  as  it  was  when  I  left  there,  and 
I  had  had  such  difficulties  there  before,  I  believed 
I  should  not  go  there  again,  while  the  place  was 
in  that  situation  ;  for  it  was  probable  I  might  again 
meet  with  the  same,  or  worse  difficulties.  He  then  ob- 
served, I  must  go,  or  Robins,'-  his   partner,  would  have 

'  That  is,  by  the  middle  of  October,  1777.  It  will  be  presently 
seen  that  Leith,  some  days  after,  saw  Lieutenant-Governor  Henry 
Hamilton  in  Detroit ;  but  that  official  left  there  on  the  7th  of  Oc- 
tober, 177S,  and  did  not  return  ;  so  that  the  October  spoken  of  by 
Leith  must  have  been  in  1777. 

^One  of  the  Moravian  missionaries,  on  his  way  in  1783  from 
Upper  Sandusky  to  Detroit,  along  with  other  missionaries  and 
their  families,  stopped  at  Lower  Sandusky.  There  he  found  a 
Mr.  Arundle  and  Mr.  Robbins,  residing  as  traders.     He  says: 

"  Arriving  at  Lower  Sandusky  [in  March,  17S2],  after  several 
days  traveling  through  the  wilderness  and  swampy  grounds;  we 
were  kindly  received,  by  two  English  traders,  who  resided  about 
a  mile  from  each  other,  with  tlie  principal  village  of  the  Wyan- 
dots  between  them.  Mr.  Arundle,  having  a  spacious  house,  took 
in  those  who  had  families,  while  Mr.  Robbins  made  the  two  sin- 
gle brethren  welcome  at  his  house  ;  our  conductor  lodged  with 
the  former.  With  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Ai'undle,  a  letter  was  im- 
mediately written  to  the  commandant  at  Detroit  [Major  A.  S.  De 


Biography  of  John  LeeiJi.  ^S 

to  pay  the  ,£500^  for  which  he  was  bail  for  me,  when  I 
left  there.      I  had  not   known   before,  that  an  obligation 

Peyster],  and  sent  by  express  to  inform  him  of  our  arrival  at  this 
place." — Heckewekler's  Narrative^  pp.  329,  330. 

From  what  is  here  said,  and  from  certain  otlier  extrinsic  evi- 
dence, the  conclusion  is  that  Messrs.  Arundle  and  Robbins  were 
partners — the  same  who  employed  Leith  when  he  first  arrived  at 
Detroit  in  1777. 

The  following  recitnl  may  not  be  devoid  of  interest  in  this 
connection  : 

"In  the  spring  of  the  year  i7S3,  the  war-chief  [Abraham 
Kuhn]  of  the  Wyandots  of  Lower  Sandusky  sent  a  white  pris- 
oner (a  young  man  [name  unknown],  whom  he  had  taken  at 
Fort  Mcintosh)  as  a  present  to  another  chief,  who  was  called  the 
Half-King  oi  Upper  Sandusky,  for  the  purpose  of  being  adopted 
into  his  family,  in  the  place  of  one  of  his  sons,  who  had  been 
killed  [in  the  celebrated  Poe  fightj  the  preceding  year,  while  at 
war  with  the  people  on  the  Ohio.  The  prisoner  arrived,  and 
was  presented  to  the  Half-King's  wife,  but  she  refused  to  receive 
him,  which,  according  to  tlie  Indian  rule,  was,  in  fact,  a  sentence 
of  death.  The  young  man  was,  therefore,  taken  away  for  the  pur- 
pose of  being  tortured  and  burnt  on  the  pile.  While  the  dread- 
ful preparations  were  making  near  the  village,  the  unhappy  vic- 
tim being  already  tied  to  the  stake,  and  the  Indians  arriving  from 
all  quarters  to  join  in  the  cruel  act  or  to  witness  it,  two  English 
traders,  Messrs.  Arundle  and  Robbins  (I  delight  in  making  this 
honorable  mention  of  their  names),  shocked  at  the  idea  of  the 
cruelties  which  were  about  to  be  perpetrated,  and  moved  by  feel- 
ings of  pity  aud  humanity,  resolved  to  unite  their  exertions  to  en- 
deavor to  save  the  prisoner's  life  by  offering  a  ransom  to  the  war- 
chief  [Abraham  Kuhn],  which  he,  however  refused,  because,  said 


36  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

rested  on  my  bail  for  my  return,  or,  I  believe,  I  should 
not  have  left  there  under  such  circumstances.  How- 
ever, I  determined  to  relieve  my  bail;  and  the  next 
morning  we  started  for  Detroit.  When  we  arrived  there, 
I  waited  on  the  Governor,^  with  my  employer;   and  gave 

he,  it  was  an  established  rule  among  them,  that  when  a  prisoner 
who  had  been  given  as  a  present,  was  refused  adoption,  he  was 
irrevocably  doomed  to  the  stake,  and  it  was  not  in  the  power  of 
any  one  to  save  his  life.  Besides,  added  he,  the  numerous  war 
captains  who  were  on  the  spot,  had  it  in  charge  to  see  the  sentence 
carried  into  execution.  The  two  generous  Englishmen,  how- 
ever, were  not  discouraged,  and  determined  to  try  a  last  eflbrt. 
They  well  knew  what  effects  the  high-minded  pride  of  an  Indian 
was  capable  of  producing,  and  to  this  strong  and  noble  passion 
they  directed  their  attacks.  '  But,'  said  they,  in  reply  to  the  answer 
which  the  chief  had  made  them,  '  among  all  those  chiefs  whom 
you  have  mentioned,  there  is  none  who  equals  you  in  greatness ; 
3'ou  are  considered  not  only  as  the  greatest  and  bravest,  but  as  the 
best  man  in  the  nation.'  '  Do  you  really  believe  what  vou  say?' 
said  at  once  the  Indian,  looking  them  full  in  the  face.  '  Indeed, 
we  do.'  Then,  without  saying  another  word,  he  blackened  him- 
self, and,  taking  his  knife  and  tomahawk  in  his  hand,  made  his  way 
thi'ough  the  crowd  to  the  unhappy  victim,  crying  out  with  a  loud 
voice,  '  What  have  you  to  do  with  my  prisoner.'"  and  at  once  cut- 
ting the  cords  with  which  he  was  tied,  took  him  to  his  house 
which  was  near  Mr.  Arundle's,  whence  he  was  forthwith  secured 
and  carried  off  by  safe  hands  to  Detroit." — Heckewelder's  Ind. 
Nations^  pp.  162,  163. 

^  After  the  capture  of  the  Illinois  country  by  George  Rogers 
Clark,  Hamilton  at  Detroit  planned  an  expedition  for  its  recovery, 
to  be  commanded  by  himself.     It  proved  a  failure,  and  the  com- 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  37 

up  my  pass  and  certificate  to  him.  Now,  said  I  to  my 
employer,  you  need  not  depend  on  my  services  any 
longer,  for  I  will  never  again  plunge  myself  into  such 
difficulties,  or  attempt  to  get  another  pass,  or  give  bail 
in  this  place  ;  for  I  now  feel  myself  a  free  man,  and 
will  go  where  I  please.  He  told  me,  I  had  better  take 
good  care  in  what  I  said,  for  if  any  of  the  British 
heard  me  use  such  expressions,  they  would  immedi- 
ately inform  against  me,  and  I  would  be  put  on  board 
the  guard-ship   then   lying  at  anchor  there. 

mander  fell  into  the  hands  of  Clark.  Among  others  captured 
was  his  "  grand  judge,"  Philip  Dejean,  before  mentioned.  Ham- 
ilton was  sent  a  prisoner  to  Virginia,  where  he,  "  Grand  Judge 
Dejean,"  and  one  Captain  La  Mothe  were,  for  awhile,  ironed  and 
closely  imprisoned  in  a  dungeon  at  Williamsburg;  were  prohib- 
ited the  use  of  pen,  ink  and  paper,  and  from  all  intercourse,  by 
order  of  the  Council  of  Virginia,  who  upon  examining  the  evi- 
dence before  them,  found  that  Hamilton  had  been  guilty  of  great 
cruelties  to  American  prisoners  at  Detroit ;  that  he  had  offered 
rewards  for  scalps,  but  none  for  prisoners,  thus  inciting  the  In- 
dians to  murder  the  defenseless ;  that  Dejean  was  the  willing  in- 
strument of  his  cruelty,  and  that  La  Alothe  had  himself  led  scalp- 
ing parties,  who  spared  neither  men,  women  nor  children.  This 
imprisonment  led  to  a  notable  correspondence  between  Washing- 
ton and  Jefferson,  the  governer  of  Virginia,  and  others,  as  to 
whether,  as  prisoners  of  war,  Hamilton  and  his  companions  were 
not  entitled  to  different  treatment.  They  were  subsequently  re- 
leased and  paroled.  Hamilton  was  afterwards,  for  one  year, 
governor  of  Canada,  and  was  then  appointed  governor  of  Do- 
minica, and  not  long  after  died. 


38  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

I  continued  in  the  Fort  about  a  week  longer  ; 
when,  one  morning  my  employer  asked  me,  when  I 
intended  leaving  there.  I  told  him,  I  should  go 
when  I  pleas[i4]ed.  He  answered,  he  wished  to  know, 
because  he  intended  to  leave  there  the  next  morning  ; 
and  if  I  would  meet  him  at  Brownstown,^  he  would 
employ  an  Indian  to  take  my  horse  around,"  and  take 
me  on  board  his  boat  ;  *'  for,"  said  he,  "  I  can  not 
get  along  without  you." 

1  concluded  I  would  meet  him,  and  went  there  the 
same  evening;^  where  I  met  him,  and  got  on  board 
his  boat;  from  whence,  we  made  our  way  to  Sandusky  ;* 

^  Brownstown,  an  Indian  village  of  the  Detroit  Wyandots, 
situated  on  the  site  of  what  is  now  Gibraltar,  a  post-village  of 
Wayne  county,  Michigan,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Detroit  river, 
at  its  entrance  into  Lake  Erie,  one  mile  from  Gibraltar  Station 
of  the  Canada  Southern  railroad.  Adam  Brown,  a  Wyandot 
chief,  once  resided  there  ;  hence  the  name — Brownstown. 

^  That  is,  around  the  west  end  of  Lake  Erie  to  Lower 
Sandusky. 

^  That  Leith  was  enabled  this  time  to  leave  Detroit  without 
giving  bail,  and  his  having  returned  there  from  Lower  Sandusky 
without  any  ostensible  reason  given  by  his  employer,  except 
that  his  partner  would  have  to  pay  the  £500  jDenalty  in  his  bail- 
bond  unless  he  returned,  raises  a  suspicion  that  the  whole  matter 
was  a  plan  devised  by  the  traders  to  relieve  themselves  from  the 
bond. 

*It  would  seem,  beyond  all  doubt,  that  it  was  Lower  San- 
dusky, and  not  Upper  Sandusky,  to  which  they  made  their  way 
at  this  time.     The  location  of  the  former  has  already  been  given  ; 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  jp 

where  I  remained  some  time  in  his  employ.  Whilst 
remaining  here,  a  circumstance  took  place,  which  was 
in  the  utmost  degree  appalling  to  human  nature;  and 
raised  such  sensations  of  horror  in  my  breast,  that  I 
never  before  experienced  ;  and  which,  the  reader  may 
imagine,  for  I  cannot  describe  them,  A  prisoner 
was  brought  in  by  the  Wyandotts'  and  Mingoes,^  to 
the  store  of  my  employer.  Before  the  store  door  were  a 
number  of  Wyandotts,  waiting  to  join  in  the  murdering 
of  him.  As  he  was  passing  the  house,  they  knocked 
him  down  with  tomahawks,  cut  off  his  head,  and  fixed 
it  on  a  pole,  erected  for  the  purpose;  when  commenced 
a  scene  of  yelling,  dancing,  singing  and  rioting,  which, 
I  suppose,  represented  something  like  demons  from 
the   infernal    regions.^     After  their    fury  and    drunken 

the  last  mentioned  was  about  forty  miles  farther  up  the  San- 
dusky river. 

'The  valley  of  the  Sandusk}',  with  considerable  outlying  ter- 
ritory, was  then,  and  had  been  for  many  years,  the  home  of 
Wyandot  Indians,  who  had  migrated  there  from  the  vicinity  of 
Detroit,  where  still  remained  a  part  of  the  nation. 

^  The  Mingocs  had  no  villages  upon  the  Sandusky  river 
during  the  revolution ;  but,  to  the  southward,  at  not  a  great 
distance,  there  dwelt  different  bands  of  these  vagrant  Iroquois, 
in  a  number  of  villages. 

'  The  importance  of  this  recital  is,  in  an  historical  sense, 
two-fold.  It  settles  the  question:  (i.)  that  the  Wyandots 
were  (notwithstanding  their  professions  to  the  contrary),  so 
early  as    177S,  actually   fighting   against   the   United    States   as 


40  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

frolick  was  abated,  we  sent  to  the  Chief  of  the  Nation^ 
for  liberty  to  bury  the  body ;  and  his  answer  was, 
"  They  do  not  bury  our  dead  when  they  kill  them, 
and  we  will  not  bury  theirs  :  "  on  the  return  of  which, 
we  sent  another  petition,  and  informed  him,  that  we 
would  remove  our  store  out  of  the  country,  if  we  could 
not  have  liberty  to  bury  dead  carcases  out  of  our  sight. 
He  answered  then,  that  we  might  do  as  we  pleased 
with  them  :  on  which,  we  took  the  head  down,  placed 
it  to  the  body,  as  well  as  we  could,  wrapped  them  in  a 
clean  blanket,  and  buried  him  as  decently  as  our  situa- 
tion would  admit  of."- 

allies  of  Great  Britain ;  and  (2.)  that  captives  were  brought 
from  the  border  to  points  contiguous  to  Detroit,  and  then  toma- 
hawked and  scalped,  the  direct  result  of  Hamilton's  barbarous 
policy  of  offering  a  reward  for  scalps,  but  paying  none  for 
prisoners. 

^  The  Chief  of  the  Sandusky  Wyandots  at  this  time  was  the 
Half  King — so  called  by  the  English, — a  shrewd  but  rapacious 
savage.  His  residence  was  not  at  Lower  Sandusky,  but  at 
Upper  Sandusky,  then  located  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
above  what  is  now  a  town  of  the  same  name,  the  county-seat  of 
Wyandot  county,  Ohio,  but  afterward  moved  to  the  w'est  side 
of  that  stream,  about  eight  miles  below  its  former  site,  as  will 
hereafter  be  explained. 

^  This  burial  is  the  Jirst  one  of  any  white  person  known  to 
have  taken  place  within  the  limits  of  what  is  now  Sandusky 
county,  Ohio  ;  and,  as  first  things  are,  to  local  historians,  import- 
ant events,  it  is  suggested  that  this  fiict  may  be  of  interest  to  future 
annalists  of  that  county 


Biography  of  Jo/m  LeetJi.  41 


Some  time  after  this  scene,  the  Delaware  Indian/ who 


C 

first  took  me,  came  to  Sandusky,  on  purpose  for  me,  and 
said,  I  must  go  with  him.  I  parleyed  with  him  for  some 
time,  and  told  him  I  was  not  ready,  and  [15]  could  not 
leave  my  business;  but  through  his  insinuating  per- 
suasions, he,  at  length,  prevailed  on  me  to  go.  I  made 
ready  as  soon  as  possible,  and  accompanied  him  to 
Coshocton,  (the  Muskingum  River,)'"  where  I  remained 
a  considerable  time,  j 

The  Spring   following,^  I   was    married    to   a  young 

'  It  may  be  thought  strange  that  a  Delaware,  at  this  period, 
should  be  found  at  Lower  Sandusky,  as  his  nation  was,  if  not  the 
ally  of  the  United  States,  quite  friendly.  But  this  state  of  affairs 
was  peculiar  to  the  nation  at  large.  Some  bands  were,  even  then, 
hostile  ;  and  it  was  not  long  before  a  considerable  number,  with- 
drew from  the  Muskingum,  and  made  their  homes  nearer  the 
British  allies — the  Shawanese,  Mingoes,  and  Wyandots. 

■^  Coshocton  was  then  the  principal  Delaware  village,  the  site,  as 
already  explained,  of  the  present  town  of  that  name,  county-seat 
of  Coshocton  county,  Ohio.  The  Muskingum  river  is  formed 
by  the  Walhonding  and  Tuscarawas  rivers,  which  unite  at 
Coshocton.  It  runs  southward,  through  the  present  county  of 
Aluskingum  ;  southeastward,  through  the  counties  of  Morgan  and 
Washington,  and  enters  the  Ohio  river  at  Marietta.  It  is  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  long.  The  chief  towns  upon  its 
banks  are  Zanesville  and  Marietta. 

'  That  is,  "  the  spring  following  "  the  year  of  Leith's  arrival  at 
Coshocton  ;  or,  in  other  words,  "the  spring  of  1779' 


42  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

woman, ^  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age ;  also  a  pris- 
oner to  the  Indians  ;  who  had  been  taken  by  them  when 
about  twenty  months  old." 

I  was  then  in  my  twenty-fourth  year."  Our  place  of 
residence  was  in  Moravian  Town/  for  about  two  years  f 
about  which   time,  Col.  Williams,  an  American   officer, 

'  From  the  descendants  of  Leith,  I  learn  that  this  young 
woman's  name  was  Sally  Lowrey. 

^  It  seems  to  be  certain  that  Sally  Lowrey  was  taken  in  1763, 
during  what  is  known  in  history  as  Pontiac's  war.  It  is  a  tra- 
dition of  the  family  descendants  that  she  was  captured  at  Big 
Cove,  in  Pennsylania. 

^As  Leith  would  be  very  apt  to  bear  in  mind  his  age  at  his 
marriage,  this  assertion  may  be  considered  a  verity.  Now,  as  he 
was  born  on  the  15th  of  March,  1755,  he  would  be,  in  1779,  in  his 
twenty-fourth  year  down  to  the  15th  of  that  month.  He  must 
have  been  married,  therefore,  in  the  first  half  of  March,  1779,  as 
his  nuptials  took  place  in  the  spring.  I  know  of  no  marriage 
between  two  white  persons  of  so  early  a  date  as  this  within  the 
present  limits  of  Ohio. 

*This  town  was  known  as  Gnadenhiitten.  It  was  a  Moravian 
missionary  town,  where  were  gathered  a  number  of  Indians,  prin- 
cipally Delawares.  It  was  situated  on  what  was  then  known  as 
the  Muskingum,  now  Tuscarawas,  in  the  present  Clay  township, 
Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  lying  in  the  outskirts  of  what  is  now 

the  town  of  the  same  name. 

^The  idea  is,  that  the  two  went  to  live  at  Gnadenhiitten  soon 

after  their  marriage  ;  this  is  evident  from  what  follows. 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  43 

took  possession  of  Coshocton  ;^  and   shortly  after,"  the 

^Leith  meant  Colonel  David  Williamson  ;  but,  in  this,  he  was 
mistaken.  The  American  officer  who  "  took  possession  of  Co- 
shocton "  was  Colonel  Daniel  Brodhead.  This  was  a  little  over 
two  years  after  Leith's  marriage.  Colonel  Brodhead,  who  was 
then  commanding  Fort  Pitt  (Pittsburgh)  and  its  dependencies,  left 
that  post  on  the  yih  of  April,  1781,  with  over  one  hundred  and 
fifty  regulars,  on  an  expedition  against  those  Delawares  who  had 
become  hostile,  dropjoing  down  to  Wheeling,  where  David 
Shepherd,  lieutenant  of  Ohio  county,  Virginia,  had  collected 
one  hundred  and  thirty-four  of  the  militia  of  his  county,  including 
officers.  With  them  went  a  few  friendly  Indians — Captains 
Montour  and  Wilson,  and  three  other  warriors — who  evinced  a 
keen  desire  for  the  scalps  of  the  hostile  Delawares.  On  the  loth, 
the  united  force  made  its  way  across  the  Ohio,  taking  the  nearest 
route  to  Coshocton.  Shepherd's  division  consisted  of  four  com- 
panies. The  savages  were  completely  surprised.  Their  town 
was  laid  waste  ;  also  a  village  of  theirs  just  below.  Fifteen  of 
their  warriors  were  killed,  and  over  twenty  prisoners  taken. 
Large  quantities  of  peltry  and  other  stores  were  destroyed,  and 
about  forty  head  of  cattle  killed.  The  Americans  then  proceeded 
up  the  valley  to  Newcomer's  Town,  where  there  were  about  thirty 
friendly  Delaware  Indians,  who  were  occupying  the  place.  From 
them,  as  well  as  from  the  Moravian  missionaries  and  their  con- 
verts, whose  tovv'ns  were  not  far  away,  the  troops  experienced 
great  kindness,  obtaining  a  sufficient  supply  of  meat  and  corn  to 
subsist  themselves  and  their  horses  to  the  Ohio.  The  expedition 
proved  a  decided  success  ;  for  the  hostile  Delawares  now  entirely 
forsook  the  valley  of  the  Tuscarawas  and  Muskingum,  never 
again  occupying  either  as  a  permanent  abode — drawing  back  to 
the  Scioto,  the  Mad  river,  and  the  Sandusky. 

^In  September  following;  that  is,  in  September,  17S1. 


44  Biography  of  John  Leetk. 

British,  and  their  Indian  allies,  took  Moravian  Town,^ 
with  me,  my  wife  and  children,"  and  all  the  Moravians, 
prisoners;  and  carried  us  to  Sandusky.^  After  arriving 
at  Sandusky,  the  British  would  not  suffer  me  to  trade 
on  my  own  footing,  and  for  myself: — but  five  of  them 
having  placed  their  funds  into  one  general  stock,  em- 
ployed me  to  attend  to  their  business  for  them  ;  and, 
two  of  them   being    mv   old  employers,   they  gave  me 

^  The  town  "taken"  was  Gnadenhiitten.  The  Indians  who 
captured  the  missionaries  and  their  flock  was  a  party  of  Dela- 
wares,  Wyandots,  Monseys,  and  a  small  number  of  Shawanese, 
headed  by  Matthew  Elliott  and  a  few  English  and  French.  The 
reason  for  the  sacking  of  this  missionary  Indian  town,  as  given 
by  Moravian  writers,  is  wholly  erroneous.  The  cause  was  this: 
the  Indians  and  the  British,  who  were  on  an  expedition  against 
the  border,  made  this  village  a  resting-place;  and.  w^hile  there, 
obtained  information  from  prisoners  which  proved  conclusively 
that  the  Moravian  missionaries  had  informed  the  Americans  of 
their  intended  raid.  (See  Washington-Irvine  Correspondence, 
pp.  5S-60.) 

^  The  family  of  Leith  consisted  of  his  wife  and  two  children. 
The  eldest,  Samuel,  died  in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  in  1S20. 
Both  his  children  were  boys,  and  both  were  born  at  Gnadenhiit- 
ten. Samuel  having  been  born  in  17S0,  was  the  second  white 
child,  in  point  of  time,  born  in  the  Tuscarawas  valley,  so  far  as  is 
now  known  :  the  first  was  John  Lewis  Roth,  born  in  Gnadenhiit- 
ten, July  4,  1773.) 

'The  point  where  the  Moravian  missionaries  and  their  flock 
spent  the  winter  of  17S2,  was  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Sandusky 
river,  something  over  two  miles  above  what  is  now  Upper  San- 
dusky, Wyandot  county,  Ohio. 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  45 

the  same  wacjes  as  heretofore.  "Whilst  in  this  em- 
ploy,  Col's  Williams^  and  Crawford'-  marched  with  an 
army,  against  Sandusky  ;"  at  which   time  I  was  closely 

*  Colonel  David  Williamson.  He  was  Colonel  of  the  Third 
Battalion  of  Washington  county  militia,  and  second  in  command 
upon  the  Sandusky  expedition.  He  was  a  son  of  John  William- 
son, and  was  born  in  1752,  near  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania.  He  came 
to  the  western  country  when  a  boy  ;  he  afterward  returned  home, 
and  persuaded  his  parents  to  emigrate  beyond  the  Alleghanies, 
They  settled  upon  Buffalo  creek,  in  what  was  subsequently  Wash- 
ington county,  about  twelve  miles  from  the  Ohio.  At  that  point, 
David  had  a  "station"  during  the  Revolution,  which,  though 
often  alarmed,  was  never  attacked.  From  the  commencement 
of  Indian  depredations,  Williamson  took  an  active  part  in  the 
defense  of  the  western  border,  having  previously,  during  Dun- 
more's  war,  held  a  captain's  commission.  He  was  every-where 
recognized  as  a  true  lover  of  his  country — willing  to  make  any 
sacrifice  for  its  welfare.  His  activity  in  guarding  the  defenseless 
inhabitants  of  the  frontier  settlements  was  untiring.  His  having  led 
an  expedition,  early  in  17S3,  to  the  Tuscarawas,  which  resulted  in 
the  killing  of  a  large  number  of  Moravian  Indians,  resulted  in  his 
being  severely  criticised.  After  the  return  of  the  Sandusky  expe- 
dition, an  account  of  which  is  presently  given,  he  was  soon 
activel}'  engaged  in  watching  the  exposed  border — continuing  his 
services  until  the  restoration  of  peace.  He  was  afterward  popular 
with  the  people  of  his  county,  being  first  county  lieutenant,  and 
then  elected,  in  17S7,  to  the  office  of  sheriff. 

''Colonel  William  Crawford,  a  biographical  sketch  of  whom 
is  hereafter  given.     (Page  51,  Note.) 

'  That  is,  against  Upper  Sandusky — a  Wyandot  Indian  village, 
situated  less  than  three  miles  up  the  Sandusky  river,  from  the  site 


46  ■  Biography  of  John   Leeth. 

watched  by  the  Indians;  and  had  to  make  my  move- 
ments with  particular  regularity  ;  though  I  had  spies 
going  to  and  fro,  by  whom,  I  could  hear,  every  even- 
ing, where  the  army  was  encamped,  for  several  days. 
One  evening,  I  was  informed,  the  army  was  only 
fifteen  miles  distant;^  when  I  immediately  sent  the 
hands  to  gather  the  horses,  &c.  to  take  our  goods  to 
Lower  Sandusky.  I  packed  up  the  goods,  (about 
£1500  worth  in  silver,^  furs,  powder,  lead,  &c.)  with 
such  agility,  that  by  the  next  morning,  at  daylight, 
we  started  for  Lower  Sandusky.  I  also  took  all  the 
cattle  belonging  to  the  company,  along.  After  travel- 
ling about  three  miles,  I  met  Capt.  Elliot,  a  British 
officer;"    and    about    twelve    miles    farther    on,    I    met 

of  the  present  Upper  Sandusky,  county-seat  of  Wyandot  county, 
Ohio,  but  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream.  The  village  had, 
however,  been  deseited  some  time  before  ;  and  its  occupants  had 
moved  some  distance  down  the  river  on  the  west  side,  at  a  point 
five  miles  below  the  site  of  what  is  now  Upper  Sandusky.  Its 
locality  was  in  the  present  Crane  township,  Wyandot  county, 
Ohio,  just  where  what  is  now  known  as  the  "  Kilbourne  road  " 
crosses  tlie  Sandusky  river.  It  was  here  that  Leith  was  living 
with  his  family  when  the  Sandusky  was  approached  by  Craw- 
ford  and  his  army. 

'  At  a  point  not  far  from  the  present  village  of  Wyandot, 
Wyandot,  county,  Ohio. 

'■'By  "silver"  is  meant  silver  ornaments,  such  as  were  worn 
by  the  Indians. 

■'  Matthew   Elliott   was   an   Irishman   by   birth.     He   had  for- 


Biography  of  John  Leeih.  "  47 

the  whole  British  army,  composed  of  Col.  Butler's 
Rangers.^  They  took  from  me  [16]  my  cattle,  and 
let  me  pass.  That  night  I  encamped  about  fourteen 
miles  above   Lower  Sandusky  ;   when,  just  after   1    had 

merly  resided  in  Pennsylvania,  east  of  the  Alleghany  Mount- 
ains, and  early  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade,  headquarters  at 
Fort  Pitt.  He  was  thus  employed  when  hostilities  began,  in 
1774,  between  the  Virginians  and  the  Mingoes  and  Shawanese. 
He  remained  in  the  Indian  country  until  after  the  battle  of  Point 
Pleasant  and  the  marching  of  Lord  Dunmore  to  the  Scioto 
river,  protected  by  the  savages.  He  was,  in  fact,  their  messen- 
ger, sent  by  the  Shawanese  asking  terms  of  peace  with  the 
Virginia  governor.  After  the  ending  of  "Lord  Dunmore's 
war,"  he  again  traded  from  Fort  Pitt,  with  the  Indians  beyond 
the  Ohio,  continuing  until  about  the  middle  of  November,  1776, 
when  he  was  captured  near  what  is  now  Dresden,  Muskingum 
county,  Ohio,  by  a  party  of  six  Wyandots,  his  goods  confiscated, 
and  himself  and  assistant,  one  Michael  Herbert,  taken  to  De- 
troit. The  next  year  he  was  released  on  parole,  and  returned 
to  Pittsburgh  by  way  of  Qiiebec.  In  April,  177S,  along  with 
Alexander  McKee  and  Simon  Girty,  he  fled  his  country,  and 
hastening  into  the  wilderness,  finally  reached  Detroit,  where  he 
was  welcomed  as  a  loyalist  by  the  British,  and  engaged  by 
Governor  Hamilton  in  the  Bntish  Indian  department.  When 
met  by  Leith  he  was  making  his  way  in  all  haste  from  Lower 
Sandusky  to  the  assistance  of  the  Wyandots  and  their  allies 
against  Crawford. 

'  The  "  whole  British  army,  composed  of  Colonel  Butler's 
Rangers,"  was  a  body  of  British  soldiers  imder  command  of 
Captain  William  Caldwell,  who,  like  Captain  Elliott,  was 
hastening  to  the  aid  of  the  Indians  at  Upper  Sandusky. 


48  '  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

encamped,  and  put  out  my  horses  to  graze,  there  came 
to  my  camp,  a  man,  who  was  a  French  interpreter  to 
the  Indians.^  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  1  believe  I  will  stay 
with  you,  to-night,  and  take  care  of  you."  I  told  him, 
he  could  remain  there  for  the  night :  but  I  intended 
starting;  early  in  the  morning.  Next  morning,  after 
we  had  got  our  horses  loaded,  ready  to  start,  and  the 
Frenchman  had  mounted  his  horse,  we  heard  a  cannon 
fire  at  Upper  Sandusky."  The  Frenchman  clapped 
his  hand  to  his  breast,  and  said,  "  I  shall  be  there 
before  the  battle  is  begun  :  "  but,  alas,  poor  fellow  !  he 
got  there  too  soon  :  without  fear,  or  any  thought  but 
victory,  he  went  on  to  where  a  parcel  of  Indians  were 
painting  and  preparing  for  battle,  put  on  a  ruffled 
shirt,  and  painted  a  red  spot  on  his  breast;  saving, 
"  Here  is  a  mark  for  the  Virginia  riflemen  ;  "  and 
shortly  after,  marched  with  the  Indians  to  battle; 
where,  in  a  short  time,  he  received  a  ball  in  the  very 
spot,  and  died  instantaneously.^  I  arrived  at  Lower 
Sandusky,  on  the  second  day,  and  remained  there  three 

^  Francis  Le  Villier.  (See  Washington-Irvine  Correspond- 
ence, pp.  305,  36S.) 

^  Captain  Caldwell  had  cannon  with  him  ;  but  Leith  was  mis- 
taken in  supposing  that  the  firing  was  at  Upper  Sandusky.  The 
party  having  them  in  charge  had  not  yet  reached  that  point. 

^  The  fact  of  Le  Villier's  death  is  corroborated  by  the  official 
report  of  Captain  Caldwell,  written  at  Lower  Sandusky,  June 
II,   17S2. 


Biogj'aphy  of  "John  Leefh.  49 

days  to  hear  the  event.  At  length,  the  Americans 
under  Col.  Williams,^  stole  a  retreat  on  the  Indians, 
who  were  gathering  around  them  in  great  numbers  ;  but 
Col.  Crawford,  with  the  most  of  his  men,  were  taken 
by  them."    They  tomahawked  all  his  men,  and  burnt  him 

^  The  name  here  given  by  Leith  was  intended  for  "William- 
son," as  in  a  previous  instance. 

'■^Of  the  volunteers  who  went  upon  the  expedition  against  San- 
dusky, about  two-thirds  were  from  Washington  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania *,  the  residue,  except  a  few  from  Ohio  county,  Virginia,  were 
from  Westmoreland.     The   final    rendezvous  was   at   the   Mineo 

to 

bottom  on  the  west  side  of  the  Ohio  river,  where,  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  day  of  May,  17S2,  four  hundred  and  eighty,  finally,  con- 
gregated. They  distributed  themselves  into  eighteen  companies. 
The  general  officers  elected  were :  for  colonel  -  commandant, 
Colonel  Wm.  Crawford  ;  for  four  field  majors  (to  rank  in  the  or- 
der named),  David  Williamson,  Thomas  Gaddis,  John  McClel- 
land, and  James  Brenton  ;  for  brigade  major,  Daniel  Leet.  Dr. 
John  Knight  went  as  surgeon  ;  John  Rose,  as  aid.  The  guides 
were  Thomas  Nicholson,  John  Slover  and  Jonathan  Zane. 

The  volunteers  began  their  march  the  next  day  for  Upper  San- 
dusky. All  were  mounted.  On  the  fourth  of  June,  the  enemy 
were  encountered  a  short  distance  north  of  what  is  now  Upper 
Sandusky,  Ohio.  They  numbered  something  over  three  hundred, 
consisting  of  about  two  hundred  savages — Wyandots,  Delawares, 
Mingoes,  and  "Lake  Indians" — beside  the  company  of  rangers 
from  Detroit,  under  command  of  Captain  William  Caldwell.  A 
battle  ensued,  with  the  advantage  on  the  side  of  the  Americans. 
The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  five  killed — four  Indians  and  a  ran- 
ger—  and    eleven    wounded,   including   Captain   Caldwell;    the 


5©  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

alive.  After  the  decisive  battle,  my  employers  again  in- 
American  loss  was  five  killed  and  nineteen  wounded.  The  next 
day  (June  5th)  the  enemy  were  re-enforced  by  not  less  than  one 
hundred  and  forty  Shawanese  and  by  a  small  detachment  of  ran- 
gers. Crawford  called  a  council  of  war,  and  it  was  decided  to 
retreat. 

The  return  march  began  soon  after  dark  of  the  same  day,  but 
was  attended  with  considerable  confusion.  The  main  portion  of 
the  retreating  army  was  joined  the  next  morning  by  some  strag- 
gling parties,  so  that  the  whole  numbered  about  three  hundred  ; 
and  the  retreat  was  continued.  Qiiite  a  number  were  missing ; 
among  them  were  Colonel  Crawford,  Dr.  Knight,  Major  McClel- 
land and  John  Slover.  In  the  afternoon  (June  6th),  the  volun- 
teers were  overtaken  by  a  force  of  the  enemy,  in  what  is  now 
Crawford  county,  Ohio,  and  a  warm  engagement  ensued  ;  but  the 
pursuers  were  driven  off,  with  a  loss  to  tlie  Americans  of  three 
killed  and  eight  wounded.  The  expedition  finally  reached  the 
Mingo  bottom  on  their  return  ;  and  recrossed  the  Ohio  on  the 
thirteenth  of  June,  having  with  them  a  number  of  their  wounded. 
The  next  day  the  army  disbanded.  The  entire  loss  was  about 
fifty  men.  Of  those  taken  by  the  enemy,  only  two  escaped — Dr. 
Knight  and  John  Slover.  A  number  of  the  captured  were  toma- 
hawked ;  but  Colonel  Crawford,  his  son-in-law  (Wm.  Harrison), 
and  a  few  others  (all  of  whom  had  been  made  prisoners),  were 
tortured  at  the  stake.  Crawford  perished  miserably,  amidbt  the 
most  terrible  suffering,  on  the  eleventh  of  June,  in  what  is  now 
Wyandot  county,  Ohio.  (For  an  extended  narrative  of  this  cam- 
paign, see  An  Historical  Accouni  of  the  Expedition  against 
Sandusky,  ujider  Colonel  William  Crawford,  i?i  17S3.  With 
biographical  Sketches,  Personal  Reminiscences,  and  Descrip- 
tions of  Interesti7ig  Localities ;  Inchiditig,  also,  Details  of  t/ie 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  51 


sisted  on  my  moving  the  store  to  Upper  Sandusky,  which 

Disastrous  Retreat^  the  Barbarities  of  the  Savages^  and  the 
Awful  Death  of  Craivford  by  Torture.  Cincinnati :  Robert 
Clarke  &  Co.,  1S73) 

Note. — William  Crawford  was  born  in  Westmoreland  county, 
Virginia  ;  his  family,  however,  early  moved  to  Frederick  county, 
beyond  the  Blue  Ridge.  Here  he  married  Hannah  Vance.  He 
was  about  ten  years  older  than  Washington,  but  was  taught  by 
the  latter  the  art  of  surveying.  Up  until  the  commencement  of 
the  old  French  war,  Crawford's  principal  duties  were  such  as 
usually  appertain  to  a  farmer's  life.  In  1755,  he  forsook  the  com- 
pass and  the  plow  for 

"  The  pomp  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war," 

receiving  from  the  governor  of  Virginia  a  commission  as  ensign. 
He  was  first  employed  in  garrison  duty,  or  as  a  scout  upon  the 
frontiers.  In  175S,  he  marched  with  the  Virginia  troops,  under 
Washington,  to  Fort  Duquesne,  which  post  was  reached  and  oc- 
cupied in  November.  Crawford  remained  in  the  service,  being 
promoted  first  to  a  lieutenantcy  —  afterwards  commissioned  as 
captain.  At  the  close  of  hostilities,  he  returned  to  his  home  and 
resumed  his  labors  of  farmer  and  surveyor.  In  Pontiac's  war, 
which  followed  the  seven  years'  war,  he  took  an  active  part,  doing 
efficient  service  in  protecting  the  frontiers  from  savage  incur- 
sions. 

While  in  the  Virginia  army,  Crawford  became  familiar  with 
the  country  watered  by  the  Monongahela  and  its  branches.  He 
had,  indeed,  become  enamored  of  the  trans-Alleghany  region, 
and  resolved,  at  some  future  day,  to  make  it  his  home.  The  time 
had  now  arrived  to  put  his  resolution  into  practical  effect.  Early, 
therefore,  in  the  summer  of  1765,  he  reached  the  Youghiogheny 
river,  where,  at  a  place  then  known  as  "  Stewart's  Crossings," 


52  Biography  of  John  Leeth, 

I   did  as  soon   as  practicable;   where  I   remained  about 

in  what  is  now  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  he  chose  liis  future 
residence  ;  moving  his  family,  consisting  of  his  wife  and  three 
children,  over  the  mountains  in  the  spring  of  1766.  With  Craw- 
ford, at  this  place,  the  next  year,  Washington  opened  a  corre- 
spondence, which  continued  until  near  the  time  of  the  above 
letter.  (See  The  Washington-  Crawford  Letters.  Cincinnati : 
Robert  Clarke  &  Co.,  1S77.) 

Among  the  first  employments  of  Crawford  after  his  removal, 
besides  farming,  were  surveying  and  trading  with  the  Indians. 
During  the  year  17705  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  justices  of 
the  peace  for  his  county,  Cumberland,  then  the  most  westerly 
county  of  Pennsylvania.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year,  he  received 
a  visit,  at  his  humble  cabin  upon  the  Youghiogheny,  from  Wash- 
ington, who  was  then  on  a  tour  down  the  Ohio.  Crawford  ac- 
companied his  friend  to  the  Great  Kanawha,  the  party  returning 
to  "  Stewart's  Crossings"  late  in  November,  whence  Washington 
leisurely  made  his  way  back  to  Mt.  Vernon. 

In  March,  177^'  Bedford  county  having  been  formed  from  that 
part  of  Cumberland  including  the  home  of  Crawford,  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  Governor  Penn  one  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  for 
the  new  county  ;  and  in  1773,  the  erection  of  Westmoreland  from 
Bedford  taking  in  his  residence,  he  was  commissioned  one  of  the 
"justices  of  the  court  of  general  quarter  sessions  of  the  peace, 
and  of  the  county  court  of  common  pleas"  for  that  county.  As 
he  was  first  named  on  the  list  of  justices,  he  became  by  courtesy 
and  usage  the  president  judge  of  Westmoreland — the  first  to  hold 
that  office  in  the  county.  He  was,  the  same  year,  appointed 
surveyor  for  the  Ohio  company  by  the  college  of  William  and 
Mary. 

In  1773,  Lord  Dunmore,  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  paid  a  visit 
to  Crawford,  at  his  house  upon  the  Youghiogheny,  the  occasion 


Biography  of  Jo  Jin  Leelh.  53 

three   years    in    their    employment.^     About    that  time 

being  turned  to  profitable  account  by  both  parties — by  the  Earl, 
in  getting  reliable  information  of  desirable  lands;  by  Crawford, 
in  obtaining  promises  for  patents  for  such  as  he  had  sought  out 
and  surveyed.  The  next  year  (1774)  occurred  "  Lord  Dunmore's 
war,"  a  conflict  between  the  Virginians  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
Shawanese  and  Mingoes,  principally,  on  the  other.  In  this  con- 
test, Crawford  was  a  prominent  actor; — first  as  captain  of  a 
company  on  a  scouting  expedition,  building,  subsequently,  along 
with  Major  Angus  McDonald,  a  fort  at  the  present  site  of  Wheel- 
ing; afterward  as  major  in  command  of  troops  belonging  to  the 
division  of  the  army  which  descended  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of 
Hocking  river,  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio.  The  only 
fighting  done  in  the  Indian  country  after  the  bloody  battle  of 
Point  Pleasant,  on  the  loth  of  October,  was  bv  a  detachment 
under  Crawford,  in  what  is  now  Franklin  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
surprised  and  destroyed  two  Mingo  villages,  securing  some  pris- 
oners, as  well  as  considerable  amount  of  plunder,  and  rescuing 
two  white  captives. 

The  interest  taken  by  Crawford  in  this  war  operated  greatly 
to  uj^rejdice  his  Pennsylvania  friends  against  him  ;  for,  among 
them,  the  conflict  had  been  an  exceedingly  unpopular  one. 
Crawford,  who,  at  first,  had  sided  with  Pennsylvania  in  the 
boundary  controversy  subsisting  between  it  and  Virginia,  now 
took  part  with  the  latter ;  so  he  was  ousted  from  all  offices  held 
by  him  under  authority  of  the  former  province.  In  December, 
1774,  he  had  been  commissioned  by  Dunmore  a  justice  of  the 
peace    and    a  justice    of  03  er    and  terminer  for    the   county  of 

^  From  what  follows  in  his  narrative,  it  will  be  noticed  that 
Leith's  remembrance  as  to  the  time  was  a  little  at  fault;  it 
was  about  two  years  and  a  half 


54  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

they  dissolved  partnership  ;   when  each   man    took   his 

Augusta,  the  court  to  be  held  at  Fort  Dunmore  (Pittsburgh).  He 
did  not  quahfy,  however,  for  these  offices  until  after  he  had  been 
superseded  in  those  held  by  him  under  Pennsylvania  authoiity. 
Augusta  county,  as  claimed  by  Virginia,  included  Crawford's 
home  upon  the  Youghiogheny  ;  aftei'ward  the  district  of  West 
Augusta  was  formed  out  of  that  county.  Crawford's  place  of 
residence  then  fell  in  that  district.  Finally,  when  Yohogania 
county  was  established,  his  cabin  came  within  its  boundaries, 
and  so  remained  until  Virginia  relinquished  her  claim  to  south- 
western Pennsylvania. 

Crawford  not  only  took  office  under  Virginia,  but  he  became 
an  active  partisan  in  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  his  native 
province  over  the  disputed  territory.  Some  of  his  acts  were 
doubtless  oppressive,  though  he  soon  atoned  for  them  in  his 
patriotic  course  upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution.  The 
partisan  feeling  in  his  breast  immediately  gave  place  to  the  noble 
one  of  patriotism.  He  struck  hands  with  Pennsylvanians  in 
the  cause  of  liberty. 

In  1776  Crawford  entered  the  revolutionary  service  as  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel of  the  Fiftli  Virginia  Regiment — William  Peachy, 
colonel.  He  remained  with  his  regiment  until  called  to  the 
command  of  the  Seventh,  in  place  of  William  Dangerfield,  re- 
signed. Afterwards,  being  assigned  to  the  duty  of  raising  a  new 
regiment — the  Thirteenth  Virginia — he  resigned  his  command  of 
the  Seventh.  His  time  thus  far  had  been  spent  east  of  the 
mountains;  but  now,  late  in  the  year,  he  returned  to  his  home, 
as  the  Thiiteenth — *'  West  Augusta  regiment" — was  to  be  raised 
west  of  the  Alleghanies.  In  August,  1777,  with  about  two  hun- 
dred of  his  new  levies,  Crawford  joined  the  main  army  under 
Washington,  who   was   then   near   Philadelphia.     He   rendered 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  ^^ 

own  share  of  the  goods,  &c.  and  entered  into  business 

efficient  service  in  the  preliminary  movements  which  resulted 
in  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  and  in  that  contest  not  only  took  an 
active  and  prominent  part,  but  came  near  being  captured.  He 
was  also,  it  seems,  in  the  battle  of  Germantown.  Just  before 
this,  General  Joseph  Reed  wrote  Washington  that  he  had  "Colo- 
nel Crawford"  with  him,  "a  very  good  officer." 

Late  in  1777  Crawford  returned  to  his  home,  having  been 
sent  to  the  West  by  Washington  to  take  a  command  under 
Brigadier-General  Edward  Hand.  The  Commander-in-Chief,  in 
writing  to  the  Board  of  War,  on  the  23d  of  the  following  May, 
spoke  of  Crawford  as  "  a  brave  and  active  officer."  His  being 
ordered  to  the  Western  Department  lost  him  the  command  of 
the  Thirteenth  Virginia  and  his  place  in  the  continental  line, 
which  Washington,  although  he  regretted  the  circumstance, 
could  not  get  restored  to  him.  Under  Brigadier-General  Lachlan 
Mcintosh,  who  succeeded  Hand  in  August,  177S,  at  Pittsburgh, 
Crawford  took  command  of  the  militia  of  the  western  counties 
of  Virginia,  and  had  in  charge  the  building  of  Fort  Mcintosh 
at  what  is  now  Beaver,  in  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania.  He 
marched  with  that  officer  into  the  Indian  country  in  November, 
in  command  of  a  brigade,  and  was  present  at  the  building,  in 
December,  of  Fort  Laurens,  upon  the  west  bank  of  the  Tusca- 
rawas river,  in  what  is  now  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio.  He 
returned  soon  after  to  his  home,  and,  in  the  spring,  again 
marched  under  Mcintosh  into  the  wilderness  to  the  relief  of  that 
post.  Crawford  had  now  but  few  prospects  before  him  in  a 
military  way,  nevertheless  he  lost  no  opportunity,  when  called 
upon,  in  serving  his  country,  for  he  still  held  his  commission  as 
colonel,  and  continued  to  hold  it  until  his  death. 

Notwithstanding  the  time  spent  by  him  in  the  army,  Crawford 
found  leisure  to  fill  several  positions  of  honor  and  trust  to  which 


56  Biography  of  John  Leetk. 

for  himself.  One  of  them  informed  me,  he  was  going 
to  establish  a  store  at  New  Coshocton,^  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  Miami  River;"  and  if  I  would  go  with 
him,  he  would  give  me  the  same  wages  as  heretofore  ; 
upon  which,  I  agreed,  and  went  with  him. 

he  hnd  been  called  by  his  fellow-citizens  at  home.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1776,  he  was  appointed  Deputy  Surveyor  of  Yohogania 
county,  and  sat  at  intervals  in  1777  and  the  following  year  as  one 
of  its  judges.  In  177S  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  for 
adjusting  and  settling  the  boundary  line  between  Yohogania  and 
Ohio  counties,  Virginia;  and,  in  1779,  was  commissioned  as 
surveyor  of  his  county,  continuing  in  that  office  to  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  occurred  before  the  return  of  the  expedition 
against  the  Wyandots  upon  the  Sandusky,  as  related  in  the 
previous  note. 

^  New  Coshocton,  a  Delaware  town,  was  three  miles  north 
of  the  site  of  the  present  Bellefontaine,  Logan  county,  Ohio. 
It  was  also  known  as  Buckongehelas'  (or  Pokongekalas')  town. 
Leich  took  his  wife  and  two  children  with  him.  He  had  not  a 
great  distance  to  travel ;  about  forty-five  miles  in  a  southwest 
direction.  The  town  was  on  a  creek  flowing  southwest  into  the 
Great  Miami,  in  what  is  now  Miami  township,  Logan  county, 
Ohio. 

"Miami  (or  Great  Miami)  river  rises  in  Hardin  county, 
Ohio,  and  drains  part  of  Logan  county.  It  runs  southwestward 
through  Shelby  county  and  southward  through  Miami  county  to 
Dayton,  below  which  it  flows  southwestward,  intersecting  the 
counties  of  Butler  and  Hamilton,  and  entering  the  Ohio  river 
at  the  southwest  extremity  of  the  state,  about  three  miles  above 
Lawrenceburg,  Indiana. 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  57 

[17]  Sometime  in  the  following  Fall,  the  treaty  be- 
tween the  Americans  and  Indians,  took  place  at  Fort 
Pitt;  when  I  went  with  the  Indians  to  the  treaty/  and 
left  my  wife  and  children  behind,  at  New  Coshocton.^ 
After  matters  were  settled,  and  articles  of  peace  signed, 

'  The  treaty  here  referred  to  was  that  of  Fort  Mcintosh,  held 
in  January,  17S5  ;  but  the  Indians  who  were  present  came  in 
December,  17S4,  which  was  also  the  month  of  Leith's  arrival. 
Fort  Mcintosh  was  located  near  what  is  now  the  borough  of 
Beaver,  Beaver  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Ohio  river,  about  thirty  miles  down  that  stream  from  Pittsburgh. 

^  "A  grand  council  was  held  some  little  time  ago  at  Coshock- 
ing,  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Big  Miami,  at  which  were  the 
chiefs  of  many  nations."  (Statement  of  Alex.  McCormick  to 
Captain  Doughty,  October,  17S5,  in  7 he  St.  Clair  Papers.,  Vol. 
IL,  p.  ID,  note.)  Coshocking  is  a  well-known  synonymn  for 
Coshocton.  As  the  town  was  fust  occupied  during  the  Revo- 
lution, l^eith  speaks  of  it  as  New  Coshocton.  Its  locality  has 
already  been  pointed  out. 

'•I  proceeded  up  the  Miami  [in  the  latter  part  of  March, 
17S6],  which  I  found  very  rapid  ;  and  on  the  27th  of  April  I  fell 
in  with  a  Delaware  town  [New  Coshocton,  as  called  by  Leith], 
the  residence  of  Pokonge-Kalas,  a  chief  of  great  repute.  I  left 
this  town  on  the  lOth  of  May,  on  my  way  to  Sandusky,  having 
been,  from  the  37th  of  April,  at  two  Shawanese  and  four  Delaware 
towns,  and  some  scattering  settlements  of  Wyandots.  On  the 
13th  of  May,  I  arrived  at  the  Delaware  and  Wyandot  towns  at 
Sandusky,  where  I  stayed  three  days — left  it  on  the  15th,  and 
arrived  at  [Fort]  Mcintosh  on  the  3Sth  of  May."  (Liebert's 
Report,  July  30,  17S6,  in  The  St.  Clair  Papers.^  Vol.  II.,  pp.  16 
and  17,  note). 


5  8  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 


I  joined  In  partnership  with  two  others,^  in  a  trading 
association;  and  in  a  short  time,  started  westward,  with 
thirty-four  horses,  loaded  with  ,£1484  worth  of  goods. 
I  went  to  Tuscarawas,"  and  stayed  about  nine  months; 
in  which  time,  I  had  sold  out  nearly  all  our  goods. 
About  three  months  after  I  arrived  there,  Capt.  Ham- 
ilton, an  American  officer,^  came  there  with  another 
store,  and  set  up  close  by  me;   about  which  time,  I  got 

^  One  of  whom  was  Mr.  David  Duncan,  of  Pittsburgh  ;  the 
other's  name  was  Wilson. 

P^This  was  the  old  Tuscarawas  town,  situated  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Tuscarawas  river.  It  was  a  little  below  the  old  Indian 
ford,  but  above  the  forks  ;  that  is,  above  the  mouth  of  Sandy- 
creek.  It  was  known  as  "Beaver  Town  at  Tuscarawas"  in 
1764.  It  was  not  far  from  what  is  now  the  site  of  Bolivar,  Tus- 
carawas county,  Ohio^ 

Tuscarawas  river  drains  a  part  of  Summit  county,  Ohio,  and 
rims  southward  through  Stark  and  Tuscarawas  counties.  It 
finally  flows  westward,  and  unites  with  the  Mohican  (or  Wal- 
honding,  sometimes  called  the  White  Woman)  at  Coshocton,  in 
Coshocton  county,  to  form  the  Muskingum.  It  is  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  long.  The  chief  town  upon  this 
stream  is  Massillon,  Stark  county. 

^  The  American  army,  at  this  date,  was  what  was  called  the 
"First  American  Regiment."  It  was  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Josiah  Harmar,  headquarters  at  Fort  Mcin- 
tosh. There  was  no  captain  in  his  force  of  the  name  of  Hamil- 
ton ;  it  is  probable,  therefore,  the  captain  spoken  of  by  Leith 
had  been  "  an  American  oflScer,"  but  was  not  one  at  that  time. 
Hamilton  had  a  partner  by  the  name  of  Greenough,  as  will  be 
presently  seen. 


Biography  of  John  Leeih.  59 

my  wife  and  children  with  me  again.^  Some  time  after, 
while  Capt.  Hamilton  was  gone  to  Fort  Pitt,  after 
goods,  several  Wyandott  Indians  came  to  his  store  ;  two 
of  them  killed  his  clerk,"  and  bore  off  all  his  goods;  at 
which,  I  was  sorely  frightened  and  alarmed,  lest  they 
should  next  serve  me  in  the  same  way. 

While  I  was  sadly  ruminating  on  what  might  befall 
me,  a  Delaware  Indian,  (one  of  my  old  acquaintances,) 
came  to  me,  and  said,  "John,  I  will  stand  by  you,  and 
if  you  die,  I  will  die  by  you,"  We  went  out  soon 
after,  and  saw  the  poor  fellow's  body  lying  naked  on 
the  ground;  we  immediately  prepared,  and  started 
from  that  place,  leaving  the  naked  body  of  Hamilton's 
clerk,  lying  on  the  ground.  On  my  journey,  I  fully 
determined  to  kill  the  Indian  who  had  tomahawked 
him;  and  thought,  when  we  got  to  a  thicket  on  Sugar- 
creek^  bottom,  I  would  accomplish  it;  but  before  we 
arrived  there,  I  got  an  opportunity  to  speak  to  my  wife  ; 
when,  I    told   her,  my  design   was   to   kill   that   Indian, 

^  He  had  left  them,  it  will  be  remembered,  at  New  Coshocton. 

*James  Chambers. 

'Sugar  creek  rises  in  what  is  now  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  runs 
southeastward,  intersects  the  present  Stark  county,  and  enters 
the  Tuscarawas  river  at  what  is  now  Canal  Dover,  Tuscarawas 
county,  Ohio.  The  stream  is  ahout  fifty  miles  in  length.  From 
the  Tuscarawas  town  to  the  Shawanese  villages  upon  the  Mad 
river,  a  branch  of  the  Big  Miami,  Leith  and  his  family  had  to 
cross  Sugar  creek  ;  as  it  was  to  these  towns,  as  will  presently  be 
seen,  that  Leith  and  his  family  were  taken. 


6o  Biography  of  "John  Leeth. 


and  make  my  escape.  She  immediately  burst  into 
tears,  and  said,  "  O,  John!  would  you  use  me  so?  to 
kill  him,  and  make  your  escape,  leaving  me  and  my 
helpless  children  to  the  unabating  fury  of  savage  bar- 
barity."^ This  so  aftected  me,  that  I  determined  to 
stay  and  suffer  with  her,  while  I  lived,  let  what 
[i8]  might,  turn  up.  Three  days  before  this  event  took 
place,  I  dreamed  that  my  head  was  cut  off,  and  a  new 
one  put  on,  and  tied  with  a  silk  handkerchief: — after 
my  new  head  was  put  on,  I  thought  I  would  bury  my 
old  one,  and  dug  a  hole  under  the  sill  of  the  store- 
house;  but  when  I  got  the  hole  dug,  I  thought  some- 
thing would  hurt  my  head,  and  refrained.  I  made  two 
more  attempts  to  bury  it  ;  though  it  appeared  as  if  I 
could  see  the  ashes  blow  in  my  eyes. 

LWe  were  then  taken  to  the  Shawnee  Towns  on  Mad 
River  ;fjand    while  I   was   there,   the   Indians    hid    all 

^  Here,  again,  Leith's  editor  has  probably  indulged  in  a  slight 
rhetorical  flourish. 

^  Mad  river  rises  in  Logan  county,  Ohio,  and  runs  southward 
through  Champlain  county  to  near  Springfield,  in  Clark  county. 
Below  this,  it  runs  southwestward,  touching  the  northwest  part 
of  Greene  county,  and  enters  the  Miami  river  at  Dayton,  Ohio. 
Its  length  is  about  one  hundred  miles.  The  Shawanese  towns 
were :  A  small  village  called  Wapakoneta,  on  a  small  creek 
emptying  into  Mad  river,  in  what  is  now  Salem  township. 
Champaign  county,  Ohio,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  the 
present  town  of  West  Liberty,  in  Logan  county  ;  a  village  called 
Mac-a-chack  (now  usually  written  and  pronounced  Mac-a-cheek) 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  6i 


my  property  at  Tuscarawas.  After  some  time,  I  got 
a    man    to    go  with    me   to    Fort   Pitt;^   where    I    pur- 

on  a  creek  of  the  same  name,  on  the  north  side  of  the  stream, 
somethhig  over  a  mile  nortlieast  of  the  site  of  West  Liberty  ;  a 
village  known  as  Pigeon  town,  on  the  west  side  of  Mad  river> 
about  three  miles  northwest  of  Mac-a-cheek  ;  a  town  named 
Wapatomica,  just  below  the  present  town  of  Zanesville ;  and 
another  vidage,  on  the  site  of  what  is  now  Bellefontaine,  called 
Blue  Jacket's  town — all  in  the  present  county  of  Logan,  Ohio. 

*  Leith  reached  Fort  Mcintosh,  on  his  way  to  Fort  Pitt,  about 
the  middle  of  October,  1785.  Here  Major  John  Doughty  was  in 
command  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Josiah  Harmar.  Fortunately 
enough,  Major  Doughty  took  the  sworn  statement  of  Leith  con- 
cerning the  Tuscarawas  affair  and  what  followed  immediately 
thereafter.  Leith's  affidavit  (for  which  I  am  indebted  to  that  ex- 
cellent work.  The  St.  Clair  Papers^  by  Hon.  William  Henry 
Smith,  Vol.  II,  pp.  632,  633,)  was  as  follows : 

"  The  deponent  saith  that  he  was  storekeeper  for  himself  and 
company  at  Tuscarawas,  where  he  had  a  quantity  of  goods  and 
furs  ;  that  there  was  another  store  at  the  same  place,  kept  by 
James  Chambers,  for  Messrs.  Hamilton  and  Greenough,  where 
was  also  a  considerable  amount  of  goods  and  skins  ;  that  the 
whole  property  in  both  stores  was  about  the  value  of  one  thousand 
pound  [sterling]. 

"That  on  Tuesday,  the  27th  of  September  [17S5],  seven  of  the 
Wyandot  nation  came  to  the  store,  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  the  deponent  and  Chambers  were  together  at  his  house,  sit- 
ting by  the  fire  ;  the  Wyandots  told  the  Delawares,  a  party  of 
whom  had  been  trading  with  him  [Leith]  for  some  days,  that 
there  was  war — that  the  hatchet  was  taken  up  ;  upon  which,  one 
of  the  Delawares  came  to  him  [Leith]  and  bid  him  rise  and  go 


62  Biography  of  John  Leeih. 


chased   horses    to    go    in    search    of   my  goods.     The 

with  him ;  the  deponent  went  with  him,  when  the  Delaware  told 
him  that  Chambers  would  be  killed  ;  he  [Leith]  soon  heard  the 
stroke  made  at  Chambers  by  one  of  the  Wyandots ;  he  [Cham- 
bers] was  immediately  tomahawked  and  drawn  out  before  the 
house,  where  he  was  left ;  the  deponent  having  been  a  prisoner 
with  the  Delawares  for  twelve  years,  and  being  adopted  as  a 
brother  in  that  nation,  was  the  reason,  he  supposes,  why  his  life 
was  spared  ;  the  Wyandots  took  the  goods  and  furs,  except  the 
property  of  the  deponent,  and  made  two  parcels  of  them  ;  they 
gave  one  division  to  the  Delawares  and  took  the  other  themselves. 

"  The  deponent  was  carried  to  the  Delaware  towns  to  a  place 
called  Coshurking  [New  Coshocton],  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Big  Miami ;  at  the  time  of  his  arrival,  there  was  a  grand  council 
of  the  Indians,  at  which  were  present  the  chiefs  of  the  Delawares, 
Wyandots,  Shawanese,  Mingoes,  Cherokees,  Pottawattamies, 
Kickapoos,  and  the  Twightwees  [Miamis],  with  belts  and  speeches 
from  the  Ouiatenons,  Tawas  [Ottawas],  Chippewas,  and  the  Fox 
nation.  The  council  was  held  on  the  first  of  October,  and  lasted 
two  days  and  nights ;  they  held  it  three  miles  from  the  town  ;  he 
[Leith]  could  not  learn  the  object  of  their  meeting. 

"  The  deponent  further  saith  that  he  met  with  Captain  Pipe  at 
the  council,  and  as  soon  as  the  council  was  over,  the  deponent 
was  released  from  confinement ;  Captain  Pipe  and  George  Wash- 
ington [an  Indian]  went  with  him  to  Pipe's  residence,  a  Delaware 
town  on  the  Sandusky  river  [rather,  on  the  Tymochtee,  a  branch 
of  the  Sandusky,  in  what  is  now  Wyandot  county,  Ohio]  ;  they 
immediately  went  to  work  to  collect  the  goods  that  were  taken  at 
Tuscarawas,  and  had  collected  a  considerable  quantity  to  be  re- 
delivered to  the  owners ;  they  staid  two  nights  at  Pipe's  town, 
when  Pipe,  George  Washington  and  the  deponent  went  to  the 
Wyandot  towns  [on   the  Sandusky,  not  far  away],  where  they 


Biography  of  John  Leeih.  6^ 

third  day  we  arrived  at  Tuscarawas  ;  and  after  a  con- 
siderable   search,    found    them    all.      I    carried    them    to 

were  collecting  the  goods  also  ;  that  the  chiefs  of  both  nations 
seemed  very  averse  to  the  outrage  committed  at  Tuscarawas; 
the  deponent  verily  bcHeves  that  a  considerable  quantity  of  the 
goods  will  be  returned  ;  the  deponent  is  of  the  opinion  from  the 
frequent  conversations  he  has  had  with  the  Indians,  before  and 
since  the  late  afiair  at  Tuscarawas,  that  the  chiefs  of  the  Dela- 
ware and  Wyandot  nations  are  for  peace,  but  that  the  young  men 
and  bad  characters  of  both  nations  can  not  be  kept  at  peace  ;  that 
Simon  Girty  [a  renegade  American]  and  Captain  [William] 
Caldwell,  of  the  British  rangers,  were  lately  at  the  Wyandot 
towns,  and  that  he  verily  believes,  from  the  information  given 
him  by  a  man  well  acquainted  with  these  matters,  that  Girty  and 
Caldwell  were  using  their  endeavors  to  prevent  the  Delawares 
and  Wyandots  from  going  to  the  treaty  to  be  held  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Big  Miami  [which  treaty  was  then  being  advocated  by  the 
United  States  to  be  holden  with  the  Indians]. 

"  The  deponent  further  saith  that  from  every  observation  he 
could  make,  and  from  the  general  talk  of  the  Indians,  he  is  led 
to  believe  that  they  are,  in  general,  averse  to  giving  up  their 
lands ;  he  is  certain  it  will  be  dangerous  for  the  Continental  sur- 
veyors to  go  on  with  their  business,  until  some  further  treaty  is 
made  with  the  Shawanese,  Mingoes,  and  Cherokees,  who  appear 
to  be  most  averse  to  this  business. 

"  The  deponent  further  saith  that  he  was  at  the  Lower  Sandusky 
[now  Fremont,  Sandusky  county,  Ohio,]  when  the  articles  of 
peace  between  Great  Britain  and  America  were  made  known  to 
the  Indians ;  that  they  were  told  that  the  hatchet  was  only  laid 
•down,  but  not  buried;  that  the  Half-King  [head  chief]  of  the 
Wyandots  remarked  that  if  it  was  peace,  it  should  be  buried — 


64  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

Fort  Pitt,  and  returned  to  my  family  •}  after  staying 
with  them  some  time,  I  again  went  to  Fort  Pitt,  with 
the  intention  of  dissolving  partnership.  I  informed 
my  partners,  that  the  times  were  very  dangerous,  and 
trade  very  uncertain  ;  and  if  they  were  willing,  we  would 
dissolve,  and  quit  business ;  at  any  rate  for  the  present: 
but  they  had  just  purchased  a  large  assortment  of 
goods ;  and  told  me,  if  I  would  venture  my  body, 
they  would  the  goods.  I  then  agreed  to  set  out  once 
more. 

I  left  Fort  Pitt  about  the  15th  of  January;-  and 
fixed  up  a  store,  in  the  woods,  at  Coshocton,  at  the 
mouth  of  Whitewoman  creek. ^  In  a  short  time,  I  col- 
lected about  fourteen  horse-loads  of  skins  and  furs. 
The  hand^  1  had  with  me,  set  out  with  them,  for  Fort 
Pitt;    and  after  getting  about   two-thirds  of  the  way, 

that  there  were  many  of  their  foolish  young  men  who  would  take 
it  up,  unless  it  was  covered.    And  further  saith  not. 

"  Sworn  to  before  me,  at  Fort  Mcintosh,  this  17th  day  of 
October,  17S5.  John  Doughty, 

"  Major  Comm'dt." 

^  Then  at  New  Coshocton,  it  will  be  remembered. 

"^  This  was  in  the  year  1786. 

^  This  stream  is  still  known  as  the  White  Woman,  but  usually 
designated  as  the  Mohican,  or  Walhonding.  It  is  formed  by  the 
Black  Fork  and  Clear  Fork,  which  unite  in  the  south  part  of 
what  is  now  Ashland  county,  Ohio. 

*  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  name  of  this  man  is  not 
given  by  Leith. 


Biography  of  JoJui  Leelh.  65 


the  MincTo  and  Wyandot  Indians  overtook  him,  killed 
him,  and  took  the  horses,  and  all  the  loading,  off  with 
them.  I  continued  there  with  my  family,^  and  several 
horses,  until  about  the  first  of  April,  under  great  appre- 
hensions and  fears.  I  then  moved  to  Tapacon,"  twenty- 
five  miles  from  Coshocton,'"  where  I  left  my  family,  and 
went  on  horseback  to  Fort  Pitt.  I  told  [19]  my 
partners,  it  was  risking  the  property,  and  our  lives  also, 
to  continue  attempting  to  trade  in  such  perilous  times; 
and  once  more,  made  a  proposition  to  dissolve,  and 
quit,  as  the  Indians  had  taken  all  our  profits;  but  they 
thought  I  had  better  try,  and  stand  it  out,  until  the 
goods  were  all   sold.      I  then  returned   to   my  family  ; 


.4 


^From  this,  it  will  be  seen  that  Leith  had  his  family  with  him 
at  Coshocton. 

^  Tapacon,  or,  more  correctly,  Tiippakin,  was  the  Indian  name 
for  New  Schonbrunn,  the  upper  Moravian  mission  town  upon  the 
Tuscarawas,  on  the  west  side  of  that  stream,  one  and  a  quarter 
miles  south  of  the  present  site  of  New  Philadelphia,  Tuscarawas 
county,  Ohio.  The  village  was  left  without  occupants  in  Sep- 
tember, 17S1,  upon  the  occasion  of  its  inhabitants  being  com- 
pelled by  the  British  Indians  to  follow  them  to  the  Sandusky. 
The  cabins  of  the  place  were  burned,  early  in  1782,  by  Will- 
iamson's men,  at  the  time  of  their  killing,  their  Moravian  and 
other  Indian  prisoners — a  transaction  generally  known  in  history 
as  the  "  Gnadenhiitten  affair." 

^That  is,  twenty-five  miles  up  the  Tuscarawas  river  from 
Coshocton. 

*His  family  was  still  at  "  Tapacon." 


66  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

but  just  before  my  arrival  at  home,  two  Indians  came 
to  my  house,  and  told  my  wife,  that  we  had  better  move 
to  Fort  Pitt:  they  said  the  Mingoes  had  killed,  and 
taken  all  the  property  of,  the  two  traders^  we  left  at 
Coshocton.  I  then  left  my  goods  and  skins  with  the 
two  Indians,  and  set  out  with  my  family,  for  Fort  Pitt; 
where   we    arrived    in    safety.^      Soon  after,    I    returned 

^William  Dawson  and  Charles  McClain.  The  two  traders 
are  spoken  of  by  Leith  in  such  a  way  as  to  raise  the  presumption 
that  he  had  mentioned  them  before  ;  but  such  was  not  the  case  ; 
nor  were  the  traders  killed  ;  but  their  employes,  four  in  number, 
were  slain,  as  explained  in  the  next  note. 

^  Immediately  upon  Leith's  arrival  with  his  family  at  Fort  Pitt, 
he  made  an  affidavit  as  to  the  circumstances  that  had  transpired 
upon  the  Muskingum  and  Tuscarawas,  that  the  information  might 
be  sent  to  the  state  officials  at  Philadelphia.     It  was  as  follows  : 

"Pittsburgh,  May  i6(h,  17S6. 
"  The  information  of  Mr.  John  Leith,  being  this  instant  arrived 
from  Muskingum  [as  the  Tuscarawas  was  then  called]  from  his 
camp,  he  says  that  he  arrived  at  his  camp  from  this  place  on  Sat- 
urday, the  thirteenth  of  this  month  ;  and  on  his  arrival,  he  found 
every  thing  to  his  satisfaction,  only  that,  by  making  inquiry,  he 
found  that  two  Delaware  Indians  had  come  there  above  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  before  him,  who  informed  him  that  a  certain  William 
Dawson  and  Charles  McClain,  who  were  in  the  Indian  trading 
business  [at  Coshocton]  were  robbed  of  all  their  goods  and  prop- 
erty that  they  had  with  them  the  same  morning,  about  eleven 
o'clock, — likewise  four  of  their  working  hands  were  killed.  The 
opinion  of  the  above  mentioned  Indians  of  Dawson  and  Mc- 
Clain's  lives  being  saved  was,  that  it  was  because  of  their  having 


Biography  of  John  LeetJi.  67 

with  five  men,  to  Tapacon  ;  where  I  found  my  skins, 
where  the  Indians  had  hid  them  ;  but  they  had  taken 
the  goods  and   horses  with  them.     We  took  the  skins 

bben  formerly  British  traders,  but  at  this  time  their  goods  were 
from  the  United  States. 

"  Tlie  same  two  Indians  told  Mr.  Leith  to  depart  from  that 
place  as  quick  as  possible,  as  he  was  in  very  great  danger  of  his 
life.  They  likewise  were  so  friendly  with  him  that  they  took 
upon  themselves  to  secure  all  his  goods  and  property  that  he  had 
at  his  camp.  As  for  himself,  they  told  him  to  escape  immedi- 
ately, as  they  were  sure  there  would  be  a  party  of  Cherokees  and 
Mingo  Indians  there  that  night  to  cut  them  all  oft'  likewise  [that 
is,  Leith  and  his  family].  They  told  him  that  there  was  another 
party  gone  to  the  Salt  Licks  to  cut  off'the  white  people  that  were 
there — if  they  had  not  already  got  there.  Upon  the  hearing  of 
this  news,  he  [Leith]  immediately  departed  from  that  place  unto 
here  [Pittsburgh],  leaving  all  his  property  in  the  care  of  the  two 
mentioned  Indians  and  one  more  who  was  hired  with  them. 

"  [Signed]  John  Leith. 

"Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me.  May  17,  17S6. 

"  Michael  Huffnagle." 

Thereupon,  Mr.  Hufthagle  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Su- 
preme Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania  as  follows: 

"Pittsburgh,  May  17,  17S6. 

"  Sir:  A  few  days  ago,  a  committee  appointed  at  this  place 
wrote  to  the  President  and  Supreme  Executive  [Council  of  Penn- 
sylvania] informing  them  of  our  situation,  and  the  disposition  of 
the  Indians,  from  the  different  information  we  had  received.  I 
am  very  sorry  that  I  must  address  you,  to  give  the  now  informa- 
tion to  Council  again,  for  which  information  I  inclose  you  the 
deposition  of  Mr.  John  Leith,  a  man  employed  by  Mr.-  [David] 


68  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

on  to  Fort  Pitt ;  and  soon  after,  I  set  out  for  the 
Shawnee  Towns  ;^  and  when  I  arrived  there,  found  my 
horses  and  goods. 

I  then  set  out  with  a  hunting  party,  of  seventeen 
Indians,  to  Stillwater,-  Muskingum,^  Licking,^  &c.      In 

Duncan  in  the  Indian  trade.  I  would  also  mention  that,  although 
it  is  probable  that  the  Delaware  Indians  and  Wyandots  wish  to  be 
friendly,  yet  something  ought  to  be  done,  as  the  people  that  ai"e 
now  doing  the  mischief  are  part  of  the  Mingo  nation  ;  and  that 
nation  [the  Wyandots]  not  calling  them  to  an  account,  shows 
that  they  must  countenance  them  in  it,  or  that  they  are  afraid  to 
say  any  thing  to  them.  Mr.  Duncan  sets  off  to-morrow  morning 
to  look  after  his  property.  At  his  return,  I  will  give  you  such 
information  as  I  may  receive. 

"  Your  vei-y  humble  serv't, 

"  Mich.  Huffnagle. 

"  Gen.  John  Armstrong,  Jr.,  Secretary   Supreme   Execu- 
tive [Council],  Philadelphia." 

^  Upon  the  Mad  river,  before  described. 

^  Stillwater  creek  rises  in  what  is  now  Belmont  county,  Ohio  ; 
runs  in  a  north-northwest  direction,  intersects  Harrison  county, 
and  enters  the  Tuscarawas  river  about  seven  miles  below  New 
Philadelphia. 

^By  Muskingum,  Leith  here  means  the  Tuscarawas,  which 
was  then  called  Muskingum  as  far  up  as  the  mouth  of  Sandy 
creek. 

*  Licking  river  is  formed  by  the  North  Fork,  the  South  Fork, 
and  Raccoon  creek,  which  unite  at  Newark,  in  Licking  county, 
Ohio.  The  river  runs  eastward  to  Muskingum  county,  and 
southeastward  to  Zanesville,  where  it  enters  the  Muskingum 
river. 


Biography  of  JoJm  Leeth.  69 

the  course  of  the  rout,  I  sold  my  goods  for  peltry,  and 
returned  to  Pittsburg.  Shortly  after,  I  settled  up  with 
my  partners,  and  gave  them  the  horses.  I  then  left 
there  with  my  family,  and  settled  myself  on  Huron 
River,'  in  a  Moravian  Town  ;'-  where  I  remained  some 
years.  About  that  time,  Gen.  Harmer  came  with  an 
army,   to  the   Maumee  River;'  and  the  appearance  of 

'  Huron  river,  of  Ohio,  rises  in  the  north  part  of  that  state, 
and,  flowing  through  what  are  now  Huron  and  Erie  counties, 
enters  Lake  Erie  at  the  site  of  the  present  village  of  Huron,  in 
the  last  mentioned  county. 

^  This  Moravian  Indian  town  was  about  two  miles  north  of 
what  is  now  the  town  of  Milan,  in  Erie  county,  Ohio,  and  was 
occupied  for  the  first  time  in  May,  17S7;  but  the  language  of 
Leith  justifies  the  conclusion  that  he  left  Pittsburgh  in  the  latter 
part  of  1786.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  he  and  his  family 
first  rejoined' the  Moravian  Indians  in  their  village  upon  the 
Cuyahoga  river,  in  what  is  now  Independence  township,  Cuya- 
hoga county,  Ohio,  where  they  were  located  when  he  left  Pitts- 
burgh, and  where  they  spent  the  winter  of  17S6-7  ;  then  in 
May,  17S7,  removing  to  the  Huron  river  along  with  those  In- 
dians. Here  Leith  and  his  family  remained  until  November, 
1790,  a  period,  since  their  leaving  Pittsburgh,  of  about  four 
years. 

'In  July,  1790,  Arthur  St.  Clair,  Governor  of  the  Northwest 
Territory,  while  at  Fort  Washington,  the  site  of  what  is  now 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  concerted,  along  with  General  Josiah  Harmar, 
an  expedition  against  the  Maumee  Indian  towns  in  the  vicinity  of 
what  is  now  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana.  The  army  consisted  of  four- 
teen hundred  and  fifty-three  men.     The  result  was  the  intliction 


yo  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

things  wore  a  very  gloomy  aspect.  I  knew  not  at  what 
moment  we  might  all  be  taken,  killed  and  plundered  ; 
and  yet,  not  suffered  to  remove.^  One  day,  while  I  was 
pulling  turnips,  something,  as  it  were,  said  to  me,  while 
I  was  stooping  down,  "  What  are  you  doing  here  ?  now 
is  your  time;  make  your  escape  with  your  family."  I 
raised  up — thought  a  while  on  the  matter;  and  con- 
cluded it  was  all  a  notion  of  the  brain  ;  and  commenced 
my  work  again  ;  when  the  same  thing  rang  in  my  mind 
again  ;  and  on  considerable  reflection,  went  and  told  my 
wife  of  it.  Her  reply  was  [20]  we  shall  certainly  be 
killed,  or  taken,  before  we  can  possibly  get  through  the 
wilderness.  I  then  concluded,  with  her,  it  was  more 
hazardous  to  go  than  to  stay,  and  went  to  my  work 
again.  In  a  few  minutes,  the  same  reflection  came 
again,  more  impressive  than  before.  I  went  again  to 
my  wife,  and  informed  her  of  it.  She  answered,  I  might 
do  as  I  pleased.      1  then  requested   her  secretly  to  pre- 


of  a  considerable  loss  upon  the  enemy  at  their  towns  on  the 
Maumee  river,  but  at  a  cost,  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing, 
considerably  larger  to  the  American  army  than  that  sustained  by 
the  savages. 

^  Subsequent  events  proved  that  his  fears  were  well  grounded  ; 
for,  soon  after  Harmar's  campaign,  the  savages,  at  a  grand  coun- 
cil, held  at  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana, 
determined  to  begin  a  general  war.  This  was  followed  imme- 
diately by  an  attempt,  on  the  part  of  the  hostile  savages,  to  remove 
the  Moravian  Indians  to  the  head  of  the  Maumee,  from  the 
Huron  river,  to  compel  them  to  join  their  war-parties. 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  7 1 

pare  a  good  portion  of  parched  corn,  to  pound  it,  and 
put  plenty  of  sugar  with  it,  for  our  journey;  and  I  em- 
ployed myself  in  making  ready.  On  the  first  day  of 
November,^  we  started  for  Fort  Pitt;  and  on  the  sev- 
enteenth, in  the  evening,  we  arrived  at  Big  Beaver 
creek,'-  at  the  American  station,^  after  travelling  upwards 
of  two  hundred  miles  ;^  every  moment,  fearfully  look- 
ing for  the  Indians  to  overtake  us.  Such  awful  feelings 
and  distress,  I  suppose,  no  man  living,  ever  felt,  as  I 
had  on  the  way ;  for,  if  we  had  been  overtaken,  we 
should  all  have  been  butchered  or  burnt  alive.  We  re- 
mained three  days  at  the  station  ;  after  which,  we  set 
out  again  for  Fort  Pitt;  where  we  arrived  on  the  sec- 
ond day.      From  thence  we  went  to  Budd's  Ferry;   and 

^  This  was  in  the  year  1790. 

'^Beaver  river,  of  Pennsylvania,  is  formed  by  the  Malioning 
and  Shenango  rivers,  which  unite  in  Lawrence  county,  about 
three  miles  south  of  New  Castle.  It  runs  southward,  and  enters 
the  Ohio  in  Beaver  county,  at  Rochester,  and  near  the  borough 
of  Be  aver. 

^Fort  Mcintosh. 

*  This  journey  on  foot,  of  over  two  hundred  miles,  in  seventeen 
days,  from  a  point  just  north  of  what  is  now  Milan,  in  Erie 
county,  Ohio,  to  the  present  borough  of  Beaver,  Beaver  county, 
Pennsylvania,  by  Leith  and  liis  family,  consisting  of  his  wife 
and  two  children,  in  the  bleak  month  of  November,  with  nothing 
to  eat  but  parched  corn,  was  certainly  a  trip  of  no  ordinary  char- 
acter. Contrast  this  with  one  of  the  present  day,  along  nearly 
the  same  route,  in  a  palace  car,  as  to  time  and  convenience ! 


72  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

there  I  found  my  wife's  relations,  who  received  us  with 
a  cordial  welcome.  We  settled  there  among  them,  and 
set  up  farming. 

I  have  now  got  through  with  a  narrative  of  some  of 
my  savage  life,  for  eighteen  years  together,  among  the 
Indians;  by  which,  the  reader  may  imagine  the  suffer- 
ings I  was  prone  to,  during  that  time,  as  well  as  the 
savage  disposition  my  mind  had  imbibed  ;  where  I  could 
see  or  hear  nothing,  but  scenes  of  bloodshed  and  car- 
nage,  sufficient    to  strike    horror  into  any   but  savage 

hearts.^ 

I  will  now  give  a  short  sketch  of  the  merciful  deal- 

in2;s  of  God  towards  me,  in  bringing  me  from  the  sav- 
age haunts  of  darkness,  into  the  kingdom  of  his  grace, 
to  lead  a  religious  life.  My  father  was  born  in  the  city 
of  Leeth,  in  Scotland,  and  my  mother  in  Virginia,  in 
the  United  States  of  America.  They  both  [21]  be- 
longed to  the  Church  of  England,  and  were  very  pious 
in  their  way  ;    but  died  too  soon  to  give  any  example  to 

^  Here  ends  the  relation,  by  John  Leith,  of  his  sixteen  years 
and  some  months  experience  of  savage  life.  It  is  true  that  he 
speaks  of  eighteen  years  as  the  duration  of  his  time  in  the  wilder- 
ness ;  but  this  computation  was  doubtless  the  work  of  Mr.  Jeffries, 
made  because  of  the  supposed  correctness  of  1772  being  the  date 
of  his  first  captivity,  when  it  should  have  been  1774,  as  is  abund- 
antly evident.  It  is  proper  here  to  state  that  Leith  died  at  his 
home  in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  in  1833,  the  next  year  after  the 
publication  of  his  narrative  by  Mr.  Jeffries. 


Biography  of  John  Leeih.  y^ 

me.     After   leaving    my   uncle,    I   was    entirely  among 
strangers  ;    and    thought  or  cared  very  little  about  re- 
ligion.     When    I   was  about  sixteen   years   of  age,  one 
morning  my  mistress  sent  me  to  the  spring  for  a  pitcher 
of   water,   not   more  than   forty   steps  from    the  door  ; 
while  1  was  on  the  way,  I  was  seized  with  a  trembling; 
atid   by  the  time  I  returned  with   the  water,  I   shook  as 
with  an  ague.      My  master  noticing  it,  asked  me,  what 
was  the  matter.      I  told  him,  I  did  not  know.      He  then 
told  me  to  go  to  bed.      I  went  up  stairs,  and  lay  down  ; 
and   he  brought  a  glass  of  liquor  to  me  ;   but   I  could 
not  take  it.      I   recollected   nothing  for  some  hours  af- 
terwards.     The  first  thing  I  recollected  was,  my  master 
came  to  the   bed  with    some  stewed    liquor;    but    the 
smell  was  so  disagreeable,  that  I  could  not  bear  it,  and 
I  told  him  I  could  not  take  it ;   but  he  forced  it  on  me. 
So  soon   as   I   had  swallowed   it,  I   puked  it  up  again. 
He  then  turned   from   me,  and  said,   "Poor  fellow;" 
which  was  the  last  thing  I  knew  for  nine  days  and  nights. 
All  this  time,  I  was   in   a  kind  of  sleep  or  stupor;    and 
the  following  scenes,  or  visions,  took  place  in  my  mind  : 
At  first,  there  was  something  resembling  a  cart,  came 
into  the  room,  and  took   me  up  the  chimney  :    I    next 
found  myself  on  the  side  of  a  steep  mountain,  which,  I 
thought,  I  must  climb  to  the  top  ;   which  seemed   to  be 
a  great  distance.      Sometimes,  I  would  almost  gain  the 
summit;   when,  I  would  get  on  a  rolling  stone,  which 
would  carrv  me  back  to  where  I  started   from,      I  made 


74  Biography  of  John  Leeih. 

several  attempts,  until  I  thought   I  had  worn   my  arms 
off  to  my  elbows,  and  my  legs  to   my  knees  ;   when,  at 
last,  by  a  hard  effort,  I   gained  the  top.      "When  I   got 
there,  I   found  it  the  handsomest  and   most  delightful 
green  I  ever  beheld,  and  the  most  agreeable  place,  I  had 
ever  been  in.      I  walked  along  the  green,  until    I  came 
to  the  most  beautiful  stream  of  water,  I   ever  beheld — 
so  clear,  that  I   could   see  every  [22]  pebble  in  it,  any 
way  I  looked.      I  at  length  discovered  a  woman,  wash- 
ing at  the  brook.     She  told  me  I  should  go  back  again  : 
when,  I  told  her,  I  had  very  hard  laboring  to  get  there, 
and  I  did   not  wish  to  go  back.     Said  she,  "You  must 
go  back,  and  bring  a  board  from   Col.  Chambers'  saw- 
mill."     I  went  back  ;    but  while  on  the  way,  I  concluded 
Col.  Chambers' dogs  would  bite  me;  and,  when  I  passed, 
the  dogs  and  all   the  family  came  after  me,  as  if  they 
would  tear  me  in  pieces;   but  I  out-went  them   all,  got 
to  the  saw-mill,  picked  up  the  board,  and   turned   back 
again;   but  knew   not  how  to  get  past  the  house;    for 
when  I  had  the  board,  I  knew  they  could  out-run   me, 
and  I  would  be  taken.      Sure  enough,  they  did  take  me, 
carried  me  into  the  house,  and   lifted  up  a  plank  of  the 
floor,   where  all   appeared    to    be    boiling    underneath; 
which  raised  a  steam  of  wormwood  and  all  manner  of 
bitter    herbs,   with    a    very    disagreeable    smell.     They 
forced  my  head  under,  until  I  thought  it  would  kill  me. 
I  struggled,  until    I   got   my  head  so   far  round,  that   1 
could  see  out ;   when    I   perceived  they  had   locked  the 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  75 

door,  which  was  made  of  stone,  with  iron  hinges.  I 
continued  in  that  situation  for  a  length  of  time,  strug- 
gling for  life  in  the  most  excruciating  torture ;  but 
finally,  I  succeeded  in  getting  away  from  them  :  the 
door  flew  open,  and  I  ran  with  all  the  speed  I  had,  and 
they  pursued  me  along  a  level  road,  until  I  came  near 
the  mill-pond.  Here  the  road  forked  ;  one  to  the  left, 
and  the  other  to  the  right.  I  pondered  in  my  mind, 
which  to  take;  but  at  length,  took  to  the  right.  I  had 
not  gone  far,  when  1  beheld  a  man  coming  meeting  me, 
riding  a  white  horse;  when  my  fears  ceased,  and  my 
mind  became  calm.  When  we  met,  he  said,  ''You 
have  got  away,  have  you  ?  I  was  just  coming  to  help 
you."  He  then  took  me  with  him,  to  a  new  house; 
and  wc  both  went  up  the  first  stairs,  where  I  found 
it  a  delightful  place.  He  then  conducted  me  up  to  a 
second  floor,  and  from  that  to  a  third,  which  was  filled 
with  the  sweetest  odours  I  ever  smelt.  Said  he,  "  Now 
[23]  you  must  stay  here,  for  if  you  go  back,  you  will 
be  abused  ;  but  I  will  take  care  of  you  here."  While 
he  was  talking  to  me,  I  heard  a  woman  say,  "  Do  you 
think  he  will  live  till  night  ?"  At  that  juncture  of  time, 
I  came  to  myself,  after  remaining  in  that  situation  nine 
days  and  nights,  without  knowing  any  thing  that  passed 
around  me.  After  that  time,  I  recovered  as  fast  as 
health  could  be  restored;  and  while  convalescent,  began 
to  reflect  very  seriously.  I  thought,  if  I  had  died  in 
that    situation,    I    should  have    gone   to   Hell  without 


76  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

doubt;  but  then,  I  felt  sure  1  would  get  well.  How- 
ever, I  then  resolved  to  alter  my  life,  and  live  better 
than  I  had  done  ;  but,  having  no  views  but  in  my  own 
strength,  alas  !  I  fell  short,  and  the  depravity  of  my 
heart  led  me  away  from  God  ;  for,  through  all  my  sav- 
age life,  at  times,  I  had  serious  reflections  about  a  future 
state,  and,  sometimes,  had  thoughts  about  dying,  which 
gave  me  much  uneasiness  ;  but,  being  without  the  Bible, 
or  any  religious  instruction,  I  passed  the  time  without 
a  knowledge  of  any  improvement.  After  I  had  settled 
myself  near  Robbstown,  in  Pennsylvania,  being  free 
from  the  Indians,  and  under  American  protection,  I  con- 
ceived, that  if  I  joined  myself  to  some  professed  body 
of  Christians,  that  I  should  be  saved  :  therefore,  I  went 
to  hear  one  preacher  ;  but  could  not  feel  satisfied  to  join 
them.  The  next  I  went  to  hear,  pleased  me  well,  and 
I  joined  the  church  to  which  he  belonged,  and  paid 
yearly  to  their  minister  for  a  considerable  time;  but, 
on  hearing  him  advance  something  I  did  not  like,  I  con- 
cluded I  would  leave  the  church,  which  I  did  shortly 
after  ;  but  still  continued  in  doubts  and  fears.  Some 
months  after  I  had  left  that  church,  as  I  was  on  my  way 
from  mill,  a  woman  of  my  acquaintance,  told  me,  she 
wished  me  to  go  with  her  to  meeting;  when,  I  asked 
her  who  was  to  preach;  she  answered,  a  Methodist 
preacher.  I  said,  I  should  not  go  ;  but  she  insisted  I 
should.  I  answered  her,  that  I  had  understood  they 
were  bad  people,  and  from  their  behaviour  I  considered 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  77 

them  devils,  and  I  [24]  would  not  go  near  them  ;  when 
I  left  her,  and  went  on  my  way  home.  Two  weeks  from 
that  day,  on  my  way  from  mill  again,  she  invited  me 
into  dinner,  as,  she  said,  it  was  just  ready.  I  went  in, 
and  sat  down  to  the  table.  While  at  the  table,  she  said 
to  me,  *' John,  you  must  go  with  me  to  meeting,  this 
day."  I  asked  her  again,  who  was  to  preach,  when  her 
husband  named  Samuel  Hitt.  I  enquired  what  denom- 
ination he  belonged  to  ;  and  he  answered  he  was  a  Meth- 
odist. I  said,  I  should  not  go  one  yard.  He  answered, 
"  If  you  do  not  go  with  me,  you  will  hurt  my  feelings 
very  much."  He  being  a  good  neighbor,  with  whom  I 
was  on  very  intimate  terms,  I  concluded  I  would  go, 
rather  than  offend  him.  I  at  length  agreed  to  go.  On 
the  way,  I  concluded  I  would  watch  closely  for  some- 
thing to  condemn  them,  and  make  sport  of;  for  my 
heart  was  desperately  wicked  and  contaminated ;  not 
knowing  I  must  be  born  again  before  I  could  see  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.  When  we  arrived  at  the  house, 
meeting  had  begun.  They  were  singing;  and  when 
done,  they  all  knelt  down,  and  the  preacher  began  to 
pray:  while  he  was  praying,  I  thought — How  under 
the  heavens  can  that  man,  who  is  such  a  bad  man,  pray 
in  that  manner.  He  arose,  and  took  for  his  text  the 
whole  of  the  third  chapter  of  Malachi,  commencing, 
"  Behold,  I  will  send  my  messenger,  and  he  shall  pre- 
pare a  way  before  me,"  &c.  I  paid  great  attention — 
staring  him  in  the  face,  expecting  him  to  advance  some- 


78  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

thing  for  me  to  lay  hold  on ;  but  it  was  not  long  before 
his  words  began  to  find  their  way  to  my  heart;  and 
while  he  was  preaching,  I  concluded  some  person  had 
told  him  my  case  ;  for  he  seemed  to  direct  his  whole 
discourse  to  me,  and  pointed  out  what  a  poor,  mis- 
erable, undone  sinner  I  was.  After  sermon,  he  told 
the  class  to  stay  in  for  class-meeting,  with  all  those  who 
felt  a  desire  to  stay  in,  and  dismissed  the  congrega- 
tion. I  went  out  with  the  crowd,  and  left  six  or 
eight  in  the  house.  When  we  were  all  out,  they 
shut  the  door.  Now,  thinks  I,  there  is  where  they 
[25]  carry  on  their  devilment,  and  I  will  immediately 
go  home;  which  I  did.  A  few  days  after,  a  man,  by 
the  name  of  Martin,  came  to  the  field,  where  I  was  at 
work  :  after  the  common  civilities  of  meeting,  were 
over,  I  observed,  "  Mr.  Martin,  I  have  been  to  hear 
a  Methodist  preacher:"  when,  he  enquired,  "  How  did 
you  like  him?"  I  answered,  the  man  prayed  very 
well,  and  preached  the  best  I  ever  heard,  or,  rather 
guessed  at  matters,  for  he  told  me  things  which  I  had 
never  disclosed  ;  his  words,  however,  seemed  to  come 
with  power  to  my  heart ;  but,  afterwards,  I  went  out 
with  the  crowd  of  people ;  they  shut  the  door,  for 
some  kind  of  private  meeting  ;  and,  I  supposed,  they 
entered  into  all  kinds  of  mischief  and  bad  works.  He 
then  asked  me,  when  they  would  be  there  again.  I 
told  him,  that  day  two-weeks  ;  when,  he  answered,  "  If 
you  will  go  again,   I   will  go  with  you."      I   answered 


Biography  of  John  Leeth. 


him,  **  If  you  will  come  to  my  house,  on  the  morning 
of  that  day,  I  will  go  with  you."  He  came  according 
to  appointment;  and  on  our  way  to  meeting,  he  ob- 
served, "  I  wonder  if  they  will  turn  us  out  again?" 
I  answered,  I  did  not  know.  "Well,"  said  he,  "if 
they  do  not  turn  us  out,  we  will  not  go  out:"  upon 
which  we  firmly  agreed  to  stay  in  on  that  day.  He 
preached  his  farewell  sermon  ;  and  a  great  sermon  I 
thought  it  was  too.  When  sermon  was  over,  he  dis- 
missed the  congregation,  and  we  both  went  out  with 
the  crowd,  forgetting  our  mutual  promise,  to  stay  in  ; 
and  immediately  set  out  for  home.  After  conference 
was  over,  there  came  two  preachers  on  that  circuit ; 
one,  by  the  name  of  Watson  ;  and  the  other,  by  the 
name  of  Ferguson  :  and  when  I  heard  Watson  was  to 
preach,  I  gave  Martin  notice  thereof;  and  we  went  to 
hear  him.  On  our  way,  we  again  solemnly  agreed  to 
stay  in  with  the  class.  He  preached  a  great  sermon, 
according  to  my  idea  ;  for  he  again  told  me  of  all  the 
evils  in  my  heart ;  together  with  the  many  promises  I 
had  made,  to  become  religious  ;  which  caused  me  to 
wonder  very  much  thereat ;  knowing  he  could  not  pos- 
[26]  sibly  have  heard  any  thing  of  my  case  personally; 
but,  when  sermon  was  over,  we  went  out  again,  awfully 
fearing  to  stay  ;  and  went  on  our  way  home.  Two 
weeks  after  that,  Ferguson  preached,  when,  we  went 
again  :  as  we  were  going  to  the  meetings,  "  Now,"  said 
Martin  to  me,  "why  do  you  go  out  of  the  house  every 


8o  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

time?  I  would  stay  in  ;  but  when  I  see  you  rise  to  go 
out,  I  always  follow  you."  We  then  made  a  firm  reso- 
lution again,  to  stay  in  that  day.  However,  he  said  I 
was  the  oldest  man,  and  he  would  be  guided  by  me,  as 
he  only  went  with  me  for  company  :  when,  1  told  him 
that  that  time  1  would  certainly  stay  in  with  him. 
When  we  got  to  meeting,  it  appeared,  that  Ferguson 
had  been  sent  to  another  circuit ;  and  one  Philips  came 
in  his  place.  He  preached  a  very  affecting  sermon  ; 
after  which,  I  arose  and  went  out,  and  Martin  followed 
me;  and  we  went  on  home  the  third  time  with  broken 
promises.  At  Mr.  Watson's  next  appointment,  we 
went  again  ;  and  on  the  way  again  made  a  firm  and 
pointed  promise  to  stay  in  class.  Under  preaching, 
that  day,  I  was  more  affected  than  I  had  ever  been  be- 
fore;  though  much  alarmed  when  1  heard  Mr,  Hitt 
preach  the  first  time.  After  preaching,  I  went  out 
again,  walked  across  the  road,  and  leaned  against  a  fence, 
entertaining  awful  apprehensions  relative  to  a  future 
state.  After  some  time,  I  turned  around,  and  saw  sev- 
eral persons  standing  at  the  door  listening;  when,  I 
concluded  I  would  go  and  hear  too — perhaps  there 
might  be  some  good  news  for  me;  but  when  I  got 
there,  I  found  they  were  laughing,  and  making  sport  of 
what  was  going  on  in  the  house.  It  struck  me  like 
lightning — "  My  God,  shall  I  be  numbered  with  these  !" 
upon  which,  I  went  to  Martin,  and  told  him,  I  should 
go  home.      He  answered,  *'  I  will  go  with  you."      We 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  8  i 

started,  and  had  travelled  but  a  little  way,  when  he  tap- 
ped me  on  the  shoulder,  and  said,  "  Stop  ;  what  are  we 
going  home  for  ?"  I  told  him  I  would  never  be  found 
with  the  mockers  and  game-makers.  Upon  which,  he 
proposed  going  back,  and  [27]  said,  "You  open  the 
door,  and  I  will  go  in  with  you."  1  observed,  perhaps 
they  would  not  let  us  go  in.  He  said,  we  would  make 
the  trial  at  all  events  :  so  we  pushed  through  the  crowd 
to  the  door;  I  raised  the  latch,  and  we  went  in  and 
seated  ourselves.  Soon  after  we  were  in,  Mr.  Watson 
came  to  me,  and  spoke  with  a  feeling,  which  had  great 
weight  on  my  mind.  Said  he,  "  I  see  you  are  much 
affected;  do  you  wish  to  join  with  us?"  I  told  him,  I 
desired  to  be  in  the  right  way,  that  leads  to  everlasting 
rest:  and,  after  advising,  and  trying  to  comfort  me,  he 
spoke  to  Martin  also;  who  told  him,  he  wished  to  join 
the  class.  Every  word  he  spoke,  representing  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  Saviour,  seemed  to  sink  deep  on  my  heart, 
and  my  convictions  became  almost  intolerable  ;  under 
which,  it  seemed  as  if  I  was  unable  to  bear  up.  After 
meeting  was  over,  Martin  and  myself  started  home.  On 
our  way,  I  observed  to  Martin,  "Now,  we  have  joined 
with  a  people,  who  are  persecuted  and  scorned  above  all 
others,  and  we  must  keep  it  a  secret ;"  for,  at  that  time, 
I  would  not  have  had  the  matter  known,  publicly,  for 
the  world.  My  convictions  now  grew  worse,  and  ap- 
peared  more  awful  than  ever  ;    the  reflections  passing 


82  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 


through  my  mind,  that  I  had  now  made  profession  of 
religion,  and  if  I  should  be  wrong,  my  situation  was 
worse  than  before,  not  yet  being  enabled  to  set  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  trust  my  all  to  him. 
•  I  then  betook  myself  to  private  prayer,  at  fixed 
places  and  times,  (not  believing  my  heart  was  con- 
stantly engaged.)  Afterwards,  I  took  up  family  prayer  ; 
but  s'lill  thought  I  would  get  religion  without  letting 
the  world  know  it,  but  did  not  know  how  to  proceed  ; 
still  thinking  I  had  something  peculiar  to  do,  but  did 
not  know  which  way  to  begin  that  work.  I  obtained 
the  Presbyterian  Confession  of  Faith,  thinking  that 
would  give  me  some  satisfaction  ;  but  on  perusal  there- 
of, I  could  receive  no  particular  encouragement  to  a 
desponding  mind.  I  then  heard  of  a  Methodist  Disci- 
[28]  pline,  which  I  borrowed.  I  read  it  through,  and 
it  seemed  to  give  greater  encouragement  to  those  in  my 
situation  :  therefore,  I  concluded,  that  perhaps  the  Lord 
would  reach  his  sovereign  mercy  to  me,  though  I  had 
been  a  great  sinner;  and  contented  myself  to  stay  with 
them,  though  I  still  continued  to  doubt  and  fear,  lest  I 
was  still  wrong,  and  the  Lord  would  not  extend  his 
mercies  to  me;  for,  by  this  time,  I  was  perfectly  con- 
vinced, that  except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  and,  having  tried  all  means 
in  my  power,  to  initiate  myself  into  his  favor,  in  my  own 
strength,  which  all  failed;  I,  therefore,  came  to  the  con- 
clusion, that,  if  the  Lord  saw  cause  to  save  me,  it  was 


Biography  of  "John  Leetk.  83 

his  mercy  ;  and  if  not,  my  sins  had  already  condemned 
me;  and  I  must  say  the  condemnation  was  just:  but, 
my  continued  prayers  were  now  for  mercy,  to  a  poor, 
miserable  sinner. 

Whilst  I  was  at  work  in  the  cornfield,  one  day,  when 
the  corn  was  about  head  high,  such  awful  feelings, 
with  a  darkness,  came  over  me,  that  I  knew  not  what 
to  do.  I  at  length  fell  on  my  knees,  and  prayed  to 
God  Almighty,  to  show  me  the  right  way,  and  put  me 
in  it;  for  I  was  a  poor,  miserable  creature,  and  with- 
out his  almighty  aid,  must  be  damned  forever.  When 
I  arose  from  my  knees,  I  felt  a  gleam  of  hope;  but  it 
soon  vanished  into  doubts  and  fears,  lest  it  should  be 
resting  on  a  sandy  foundation.  The  next  meeting, 
Mr.  Philips'  discourse  took  a  deep  hold  on  me;  and 
after  he  commenced  class-meeting,  came  to  me;  but  I 
was  so  absorbed  in  thought,  that  I  had  lost  my  speech  ; 
for  I  was  sure  I  should  die,  and  go  to  hell.  It  ap- 
peared as  if  my  ribs  were  leaving  my  back-bone,  and 
expected  in  a  few,  minutes  to  know  my  eternal  fate. 
When  he  spoke  to  me,  I  roared  out  as  loud  as  I  could 
halloo,  and  down  I  fell  prostrate  on  the  floor.  He 
called  on  a  brother  and  sister  to  go  to  prayer,  while  he 
stood  by  me;  and,  when  they  were  down,  prayed  with 
great  power  ;  and  I  thought  all  in  the  house  poured  out 
their  prayers  to  God,  in  my  behalf 

[29]  Whilst  this  scene  was  in  operation,  it  appeared 
as  if  my  load  of  guilt  left  me,  and   my  heart  felt  light, 


84  Biography  of  John  heeth. 

being  much  comforted  with  the  precious  promises  of 
mercy,  held  forth  in  the  Gospel.  Now,  methought, 
that  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  was  shed  on  Cal- 
vary, had  made  a  complete  atonement  for  my  sins,  and 
that  God,  through  that  mediation,  could  look  on  me 
with  the  same  love  and  complacency,  as  though  I  had 
never  committed  a  sin  in  my  life  ;  and,  for  his  merits 
alone,  I  stood  completely  justified  before  God  ;  which 
gave  me  such  a  transport  of  joy,  that  the  reader  must 
imagine,  for  I  can  not  describe  it.  Every  thing  seemed 
to  wear  a  new  appearance  to  me,  and  I  could  truly  say, 
that  though,  I  thought  God  was  angry  with  me,  that 
his  anger  was  now  turned  away,  and  he  did  comfort  me. 
I  then  rose  up  to  tell  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  my 
poor  soul,  and  concluded  my  days  of  trouble  were  all 
over,  for  I  should  not  doubt  or  fear  any  more,  after  so 
glorious  an  evidence  from  my  heavenly  Father.  But, 
alas !  to  my  sorrow,  I  have  had  many  trials,  doubts, 
tribulations,  and  conflicts  of  every  nature,  to  combat 
with,  since.  At  that  time,  I  concluded  I  would  not  let 
the  world  know  my  situation,  on  any  account,  for,  such 
dreadful  persecution  then  raged  in  the  land,  that  I  was 
afraid,  if  I  came  out  with  an  open  profession,  that  it 
would  injure  my  situation,  as  a  citizen  ; — so  far  did  my 
wicked  heart  of  flesh  lead  me  astray,  from  the  paths  of 
rectitude;  but,  blessed  be  God!  his  will  shall  be  ac- 
complished, and  his  purposes  performed;  for  it  is  he 
that  strengthens  his  children  to  fortify  themselves  against 


Biography  of  John  Lee th.  85 

opposition,  and  leads  them  in  paths  they  have  not 
known,  makes  crooked  things  straight,  and  will  not 
forsake  them.  I  must  now  stop  a  while  to  compare 
the  contrast  between  that  day  and  this  ;  and  am  some- 
times lost  in  wonder,  when  the  Christian  complains  of 
a  hard  heart,  and  many  deceivers  who  have  crept  in 
among  us,  together  with  ail  the  insinuating  stratagems 
of  Satan,  to  lead  them  astray  ;  that  he  cannot  direct  his 
[30]  views  towards  the  Author  of  his  salvation  and 
hope.  When  we  are  now,  through  the  providence  of 
Almighty  God,  placed  in  a  land  of  liberty,  where  every 
child  of  God  may  worship  in  that  way  the  spirit  dictates, 
without  any  to  make  him  afraid,  where  he  may  call  to- 
gether his  family  and  neighbors,  to  join  in  worship — 
and  the  Christian's  life,  or,  rather,  the  professor's  life, 
has  become  honorable  in  the  world,  which  seems  to  re- 
ceive applause.  But  not  the  case  then  ;  for  they  were 
persecuted  for  religion's  sake  alone.  The  soul  had  to 
fight,  and  bear  up,  under  persecutions  and  privations, 
which  are  not  known  now;  which  has  often  comforted 
me,  for,  it  seemed,  as  if  a  purification  by  fire,  of  perse- 
cution ;  and,  I  have  often  thought,  if  the  same  perse- 
cution now  existed,  that  the  real  children  of  God  would 
be  more  generally  known  to  each  other.  The  recollec- 
tion of  those  times,  I  am  apprehensive,  will  never  be 
erased  from  my  mind. 

In   the  year  1795,  about  two  years  after  my  conver- 
sion, I  moved,  with  my  family  to  the   Ohio  River,  in  a 


86  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

boat  of  my  own  building,  and  landed  at  Marietta;  there 
I  sold  my  boat,  and  bought  a  large  canoe.  I  left  part 
of  my  goods  at  Marietta,  and  pushed  my  goods  up  the 
Muskingum  River,  to  the  mouth  of  Meig's  Creek  ; 
where  my  canoe  sunk,  and  I  lost  all  I  had  on  it.  I 
staid  there  ten  days,  trying  to  get  my  goods  and  money 
out  of  the  river  ;  during  which  time,  myself  and  family 
subsisted  on  such  game  as  I  could  procure  from  the 
woods  ;  but  I  never  found  any  thing  but  the  canoe.  I 
then  returned  to  Marietta,  where  we  arrived  on  Sunday 
morning;  and  found  the  inhabitants  playing  cards,  and 
shooting  at  mark,  with  other  species  of  gambling.  While 
we  remained  at  Marietta  it  took  the  chief  part  of  my 
goods  left,  for  our  support;  except  about  one  thousand 
pounds  of  castings,  which  I  let  remain  there.  I  also 
sold  my  cattle,  on  the  proceeds  of  which,  we  lived,  after 
the  goods,  stored  there,  were  chiefly  expended.  After 
some  considerable  stay,  we  set  out  for  the  place,  from 
which  we  started. 

[31]  Myself,  wife,  and  two  children,  went  on  board 
the  canoe,  and  we  rowed  up  the  Ohio,  as  far  as  the 
Tough  Reach,  when  we  halted  at  one  Samuel  Wilson's, 
who  persuaded  us  to  settle  in  that  neighborhood,  on 
Congress  land,  which  was  then  unoccupied.  I  con- 
cluded to  do  so;  and  that  Fall,  cleared  about  three 
acres  ;  during  which  time,  I  had  to  live  on  bread  and 
water ;  after  being  forced  to  part  with  my  gun,  for  bread  ; 
which   had,  many  times,  been   my  chief  dependence  for 


Biography  of  John  Leeth.  87 

the  support  of  life.  I  was  constrained  then,  to  borrow 
a  gun  from  one  of  my  neighbors,  wherewith  to  procure 
game  for  myself  and  family  to  subsist  on.  But,  glory 
be  to  God  !  in  these  sad  extremities,  when  even  starva- 
tion seemed  to  stare  me  in  the  face,  with  that  of  my 
family  also,  which  was  dearer  to  me  than  life  itself,  he 
did  not  forsake  me  ;  but  gave  such  comforting  effusions 
of  his  love,  into  my  soul,  that  enabled  me  to  rejoice  in 
the  anticipation  of  that  blessed  day,  when  he  will  make 
up  his  jewels  ;  and  enabled  me  to  set  faith  in  him  ;  with- 
out which,  I  must  have  sunk  beneath  the  terrible  ob- 
structions which  seemed  to  oppose  my  way.  And, 
blessed  be  His  name!  he  enabled  me  to  contend  earn- 
estly, for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  through 
all  the  perils  which  opposition  seemed  to  present,  and 
enabled  me  to  trust  in  him  for  all  things.  At  length, 
through  the  smiles  of  Providence,  I  got  into  a  situation 
to  live  reasonably  well  ;  and  continued  in  that  place  for 
five  years  ;  in  which  time,  I  accumulated  sufficient  funds 
to  purchase  a  small  piece  of  land  on  Middle  Island. 

Two  years  before  I  left  that  place,  for  Middle  Island, 
my  poor  wife  (who  had  been  deranged  for  several  years, 
which  was  occasioned  by  the  falling  sickness,)  left  the 
world,  and  me  to  lament  her  loss.  She  went  off  with- 
out a  groan,  as  one  entering  into  a  sound  sleep.  Then 
a  scene  of  severe  troubles  and  trials,  presented  them- 
selves to  my  view.  One  of  my  children  had  become  of 
age,  and  left  me;   and  I  had  bound  another  to  a  trade; 


88  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

in  consequence  of  which,  I  [32]  was  then  left  alone  ; 
and  what  to  do  I  did  not  know  ;  but  still  placed  my 
confidence  on  Him,  who,  I  was  enabled  to  believe,  cared 
for  me. 

My  situation  then  became  such,  that  my  neighbors 
persuaded  me,  it  would  be  best  for  me  to  marry  again  ; 
and  after  a  mature  deliberation,  and  many  prayers  to 
God,  on  the  subject,  I  at  length  was  married  a  second 
time,  to  a  widow,  by  the  name  of  Sarah  McKee,  in  the 
year  1802.  She  was  a  woman,  who  was,  at  that  time, 
destitute  of  religion,  but  of  good  morals.  The  next 
Spring,  I  heard  there  was  to  be  preaching  at  Marietta, 
by  the  Methodists;  and  myself,  with  two  others,  set 
out  to  go  there,  which  was  about  twenty-five  miles  dis- 
tant. When  we  arrived  there,  we  found  a  Mr.  Steel, 
who  was  a  preacher;  and,  after  the  duties  of  the  ap- 
pointment were  over,  I  invited  him  to  preach  at  my 
house.  He  made  an  appointment  there,  and  attended 
the  same  ;  which  was  the  first  preaching  I  had  heard 
since  I  had  left  the  place,  where  I  had  joined  them. 
After  that  there  were  regular  appointments  there,  so 
long  as  I  stayed  ;  which  was  the  first  established  preach- 
ing in  all  that  section  of  country.  While  I  remained 
there,  we  had  a  quarterly  meeting;  which  was  the  most 
gratifying  to  me,  that  I  ever  witnessed.  The  work  of 
the  Lord  manifested  itself  in  quickening  a  number  of 
dead  souls,  who  were,  I  trust,  afterwards,  truly  con- 
verted  to   God.      Among    the  rest,   was   my   wife,   who 


Biography  of  John  Leeih.  89 

dated  her  conviction  from  that  time;  and  shortly  after- 
wards, professed  to  have  received  a  change  of  heart ; 
placing  all  her  hope  and  trust  on  the  merits  of  a  cruci- 
fied Jesus;  and,  blessed  be  God!  1  was  no  longer  left 
alone  in  my  feeble  efforts,  to  grapple  with  oppositions  ; 
but,  having  since  found  her  an  active  partner,  in  press- 
ing forward  to  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  call- 
ing of  God  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Shortly  after,  I  moved  to  Middle  Island,  only  five 
miles  distant;  and  there,  it  pleased  God  to  bless  me, 
not  only  with  spiritual  things,  but  in  basket  and  store 
also.  I  remained  on  the  island  five  years  ;  when,  I  sold 
V'iZ\  "^y  property,  and  moved  to  Wills'  Creek,  in 
Guernsey  county  ;  where  I  stayed  from  April  to  Au- 
gust;  at  which  time,  I  purchased  a  piece  of  land,  in 
Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  ten  miles  from  Lancaster; 
where,  I  have  now  lived  for  fifteen  years.  And  I  praise 
God,  that  I  am  yet  a  soldier  of  the  cross;  for  He  has 
given  me  grace  to  support  me  through  many  trials  and 
difficulties  ;  and  many  have  been  the  combats  with  the 
enemy,  which  he  has  brought  me  through,  and  is  still 
my  shield  and  buckler;  for  I  cannot  find  any  other 
pool,  where  living  waters  flow. 

I  am  now  in  my  77th  year;  and  anticipate,  that  a 
few  more  rough  storms  and  beating  tempests  will  land 
my  little  bark  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan,  where  trials, 
tempests,  storms,  sorrows,  sin,  or  afi^ictions  cannot 
reach  me.      I  must  say,  I  have  experienced  some  joyful 


90  Biography  of  John  Leeth. 

seasons  ;  and  it  lifts  my  soul  into  ecstacies,  and  warms 
my  heart  with  love,  when  1  contemplate  that  the  time 
is  near  at  hand,  when  I  shall  leave  this  poor  polluted, 
sinful  and  worn  out  body,  and  gain  that  land  of  rest 
and  delight,  which  is  prepared  at  the  right  hand  of  God, 
for  all  those  that  love  him.  And  may  the  God  of  all 
grace,  give  me  grace  to  support  me,  and  lead  me  in  his 
ways,  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  his  name,  and  reconcile 
me  to  all  his  dispensations,  until  that  time  shall  arrive, 
is  the  prayer  of  poor,  unworthy 

JOHN  LEETH. 


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BiDDLE  (Horace  P.)     Prose  Miscellanies.     12mo.  1  00 

BixKERD  (A.  D.)     The   Mammoth   Cave   of  Kentucky.     Paper. 

Svo.  50 

Bouquet  (H.)      The  Expedition  of,  against  the  Ohio  Indians  in 

1764,    etc.       With    Preface    by    Francis    Parkman,    Jr.       Svo. 

$3  00.     Large  Paper.  "  6  00 

BoYLAXD  (G.  11.,  M.  D.)  Six  Months  Under  the  Red.  Cross  with 
the  French  Army  in  the  Franco-Prussian  War.     12mo.       1  50 


2  Historical  and  Miscellaneous  Publications  of 

Brunxer  (A.  A.)  Elementary  and  Pronouncing  French  Readpn 
18nio.  60 

Brunner  (A.  A.)  The  Gender  of  French  Verbs  Simplified. 
18mo.  25 

Burt  (Rev.  N.  C,  D.  D.)  The  Far  East;  or,  Letters  from  Egypt, 
Palestine,  etc.      12mo.  1   75 

Butterfield  (C.  W.)  The  Washington-Crawford  Letters;  being 
the  Correspondence  between  George  Washington  and  William 
Crawford,  concerning  Western  Lands.     8vo.  1  00 

Butterfield  (C.  W.)  The  Discovery  of  the  Northwest  in  1634, 
by  John  Nicolet,  with  a  Sketch  of  his  Life.     12mo.  1   00 

Cl.^rk  (Col.  George  Rogers)  Sketches  of  his  Campaign  in  the 
Illinois  in  1778-9.  With  an  Introduction  by  Hon.  Henry 
Pirtle,  and  an  Appendix.     8vo.     $2  00.     Large  paper.        4  00 

Coffin  (Levi)  The  Reminiscences  of  Levi  Coffin,  the  Reputed 
President  of  the  Underground  Railroad.  A  Brief  History  of 
the  Labors  of  a  Lifetime  in  behalf  of  the  Slave.  With  Stories 
of  Fugitive  Slaves,  etc.,  etc.     I2mo.  2  00 

CoNSTiTrxiox  OF  the  United  States,  Etc.  The  Declaration  of 
Independence,  July  4,  1776;  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
July  9,  1778;  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  Sep- 
tember 17,  1787;  the  Fifteen  Amendments  to  the  Constitution, 
and  Index;  Washington's  Farewell  Address,  September  7, 
1796.     8vo.     Paper.  25 

Craig  (N.  B.)    The  Olden  Time.    A  Monthly  Publication,  devoted 

to    the   Preservation   of    Documents    of    Early    History,  etc. 

Originally    Published    at     Pittsburg,    in     1846-47.       2    vols. 

8vo.  10  00 

Drake    (D.)     Pioneer   Life   in    Kentucky.     Edited,  with  Notes 

and  a  Biographical  Sketch,  by  his  Son,  Hon.  Chas.  D.  Drake. 

8vo.     $3  00.     Large  paper.  6  00 

DuBreuil  (A.)     Vineyard    Culture    Improved   and  Cheapened. 

Edited  by  Dr.  J.  A.' Warder.     12mo.  2  00 

Ellard  (Virginia  G.)  Grandma's  Christmas  Day.  Illus.  Sq. 
I2mo.  1  00 

Family  Expense  Book.  A  Printed  Account  Book,  with  appro- 
priate Columns  and  Headings,  for  keeping  a  Complete  Record 
of  Family  Expenses.     12mo.  50 

FiNLEY  (I.  J.)  and  Putnam  (R.)  Pioneer  Record  and  Remin- 
iscences of  the  Early  Settlers  and  Settlement  of  Ross  County, 
Ohio.     8vo.  '  2  50 

Fletcher  (Wm.  B.,  M.  D.)  Cholera:  its  Characteristics,  History, 
Treatment,  etc.     8vo.     Paper.  1  00 

Force  (M.  F.)  Essays  :  Pre-Historic  Man — Darwinism  and  Deity 
— The  Mound  Builders.     8vo.     Paper.  75 


liohert  Clarlu-  cC-  Co.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  3 

Force  (M.  F.)  Some  Early  Notices  of  the  Indians  of  Ohio.  To 
What  Race  did  the  Mound  Builders  belong.    8vt).    Paper.      50 

Fkeeman  (Ellon.)  Manual  of  the  French  Verb,  to  accompany 
every  French  Course.     ICnio.     Paper.  25 

Gallagher  (Wra.  D. )  Miami  Woods,  A  Golden  Wedding,  and 
other  Poems.     12mo.  2  00 

GiAFQUE  (F.)  The  Election  Laws  of  the  TJnited  States:  with 
Notes  of  Decisions,  etc.     8vo.     Paper,  75c. ;  cloth,  1  00 

Grimke  (F.)  Considerations  on  the  Nature  and  Tendency  of 
Free  Institutions.     8vo.  2  50 

Griswolk  (W.)  Kansas:  her  Resources  and  Developments;  or, 
the  Kansas  Pilot.     8vo.     Paper.  50 

Groesbeck  (W.  S.)  Gold  and  Silver.  Address  delivered  before 
the  American  Bankers'  Association,  in  New  York,  September 
13,  1878.     8vo.     Paper.  25 

Hall  (James.)  Legends  of  the  West.  Sketches  illustrative  of 
the  Habits,  Occupations,  Privations,  Adventures,  and  Sports 
of  the  Pioneers  of  the  AVest.     12mo.  2  00 

Hall  (James.)  Romance  of  Western  History;  or,  Sketches  of 
History,  Life,  and  Manners  in  the  West.     12mo.  2  00 

Hanover  (M.  D.)  A  Practical  Treatise  on  the  Law  of  Horses, 
embracing  tlie  Law  of  Bargain,  Sale,  and  Warranty  of  Horses 
and  other  Live  Stock;  the  Rule  as  to  Unsoundness  and  Vice, 
and  the  Responsibility  of  the  Proprietors  of  Livery,  Auction, 
and  Sale  Stables,  Inn-Keepers,  Veterinary  Surgeons,  and  Far- ' 
riers,  Carriers,  etc.     8vo.  4  00 

Hart  (J.  M.)  A  Syllabus  of  Anglo-Saxon  Literature.  8vo. 
Paper.  50 

Hassaurek  (F.)  The  Secret  of  the  Andes.  A  Romance. 
12mo.  1  50 

The  Same,  in  German.     8vo.     Paper,  50c. ;  cloth.  1  00 

Hassaurek  (F.)  Four  Years  Among  Spanish  Americans.  Third 
Edition.     12mo.  1  50 

Hatch  (Col.  W.  S.)  A  Chapter  in  the  History  of  the  War  of 
1812,  in  the  Northwest,  embracing  the  Surrender  of  the 
Northwestern  Army  and  Fort,  at  Detroit,  August  IG,  1813,  etc. 
18mo.  1  25 

Hayes  (Rutherford  B.)  The  Life,  Public  Services,  and  Select 
Speeches  of.  Edited  by  J.  Q.  Howard.  12mo.  Paper,  75c.; 
cloth,  1  25 

Hazen  (Gen.  W.  B.)  Our  Barren  Lands.  The  Interior  of  the 
United  States,  West  of  the  One-Hundredth  Meridian,  and 
East  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,     8vo.     Paper.  50 


4  Ilistoricol  and  Miscellaneous  Publications  of 

Henshai.l  (Dr.  James  A.)  Book  of  the  Black  Bass:  comprising 
its  complete  Scientific  and  Life  History,  together  with  a  Prac- 
tical Treatise  on  Agling  and  Fly  Fishing,  and  a  full  description 
of  Tools,  Tackle,  and  Implements.     Illustrated.     12mo.     3  00 

HoRTON  (S.  Dana.)  Silver  and  Gold,  and  their  Relation  to  the 
Problem  of  llesumption.     8vo.  1  50 

IIoRTON  (S.  Dana.)     The  Monetary  Situation.     8vo.     Paper.     50 

Hough  (Franklin  B.)  Elements  of  Forestry.  Designed  to  afford 
Information  concerning  the  Planting  and  Care  of  Forest  Trees 
for  Ornament  and  Profit;  and  giving  Suggestions  upon  the 
Creation  and  Care  of  ^Vood]ands,  with  the  view  of  securing  the 
greatest  benefit  for  the  longest  time.  Particularly  adapted  to 
the  Wants  and  Conditions  of  the  United  States.  Illustrated. 
12mo.  2  00 

Housekeeping  ix  the  Blue  Gr.\ss.  A  New  and  Practical  Cook 
Book.  By  Ladies  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Paris,  Ky. 
12nio.     12th  thousand.  1  50 

IIovEY  (Horace  C.)  Celebrated  American  Caverns,  especially 
Mammoth,  Wyandot,  and  Luray  ;  together  with  Historical, 
Scientific,  aud  Descriptive  Notices  of  Caves  and  Grottoes  in 
Other  Lands.     Maps  and  Illustrations.     8vo.  2  00 

Howe  (H.)  Historical  Collections  of  Ohio.  Containing  a  Col- 
lection of  the  most  Interesting  Facts,  Traditions,  Biographical 
Sketches,  Anecdotes,  etc.,  relating  to  its  Local  and  General 
.  History.     8vo.  6  00 

Hunt  (W.  E.)  Historical  Collections  of  Coshocton  County,  Ohio. 
8vo.  3  00 

Huston  (P.  G.)  Journey  in  Honduras,  and  Jottings  by  the  Way. 
Inter-Oceanic  Railway.     8vo.     Paper.  50 

Jackson  (John  D.,  M.  D.)  The  Black  Arts  in  Medicine,  with 
an  Anniversary  Address.  Edited  by  Dr.  L.  S.  McMurtrA'. 
12mo.  1  00 

Jasper  (T.)  The  Birds  of  North  America.  Colored  Plates,  drawn 
from  Nature,  with  Descriptive  and  Scientific  Letterpress.  In 
40  parts,  $1  00  each ;  or,  2  vols.  Royal  4to.  Half  morocco, 
$50  OU  ;    Full  morocco,  60  00 

Jordan   (D.    M.)      Rosemary    Leaves.       A  Collection  of  Poems. 

18mo.  1  50 

Keller  (M.  J.)    Elementary  Perspective,  explained  and  applied 

to  Familiar  Objects.     Illustrated.     12mo.  1  00 

King  (John.)  A  Commentary  on  the  Law  and  True  Construc- 
tion of  the  Federal  Constitution.     8vo.  2  50 

King  (M.)     Pocket-Book  of  Cincinnati.     24mo,  15 


Eobeii  Clarice  &  Co.,  C'uic'miiatl,  Ohio.  5 

Ki.u'PAKT  (J.  IT.)    '\'.]\o  Principles  and  Practico  of  Land  Drainage. 

Illustrated.      12ino.  1   75 

L.vw  (J.)     Colonial    History  of  Vincennes,   Indiana,  under   tlie 

Frencli,  British,  and  American  Governments.     ]2nio.  1   00 

LL0Yn(J.U.)   The  Chemistry  of  Medicines.    lUus.    Ilinio    Cloth, 

$2  75;   sheep,  3  25 

LoNci.icY  (Elias).     Eclcclic  Manual  of  I'lionofziapliy.^  A  Complete 

(iuido   to  the  Ac  uisition  of   Pitman's    Phonetic    Shorthand, 

without  or  with  a  Teacher.     12mo.  75 

LoNGMCY  (Elias).     The  Plionetic   Reader  and   Writer,  containing 

Keadincj  Exercises,  witli  Ti'anslations  on  opposite  pages,  which 

form  Writing  Exercises.      12mo.  25 

LoNGLEY  (Elias).     Phonographic  Chart.     2S  x  42  inches.  50 

LoxGi.EY  (Elias).     Phonographic  Dictionai'v,  in  press. 
LoxGLKY  (Elias).     Reporters  Cniide,  in  press. 
McBiJiPE  (J.)     Pioneer   Biography:    Sketches    of    the    Lives   of 

some  of  the  Early  Settlers  of  Butler  County,  Ohio.     2  vols. 

8vo.     $6  50.  Large  paper.     Imp.     Svo.  13  00 

McLaughun  (M.  Louise).     China  Painting.      A  Practical  Manual 

for  the  Use  of  Amateurs  in  the  Decoration  of  Hard  Porcelain. 

Sq.     12mo.     Boards.  75 

McL.\uGHi,TX  (M.  Louise).    Pottery  Decoration  :  being  a  Practical 

Manual  of  Underglaze  Painting,  including  Complete  Detail  of 

the  author's  Mode  of  Painting  Enameled  Faience.     Sq.     12mo. 

Bds.  _  I    00 

MacLeax  (J.  P.)    The  ^lound  Builders,  and  an  Investigation  into 

the  Archaeology  of  Butler  County,  ( )hio.      lllus.      12mo.      1   50 

MacLean(J.  P.)  AManual  of  Antiquity  ofMan.  lllus.  12mo.  1  00 
MacLeax  (J.  P.)  Mastodon,  Mammoth,  and  Man.  lllus.   12mo.  60 
Maxsfield  (E.  D.)      Personal    Memories,    Social.    Political,    and 
Literary.      1803-43.     12mo.  2  00 

Maxypexny  (G.  W.)     Our  Indian  Wards:   A  History  and  Discus- 
sion of  the  Indian  Question.     8vo.  3  00 
May  (Col.  J.)     Journal  and  Letters  of,  relative  to  Two  Journevs 
to  the  Ohio  Country,  17S8  and  1779.     Svo.                              2  00, 

Mettexhetmer  (IT.  J.)  Safety  Book-keeping;  being  a  Complete 
Exposition  of  Book-keepers'  Frauds.     12mo.  1  CO 

Minor  (T.  C,  M.  D.)  Child-Bed  Fever.  Erysipelas  and  Puer- 
peral Fever,  with  a  Short  Account  of  both  Diseases.  8vo.   2  00 

Minor  (T.  C,  M.  D.)  Scarlatina  Statistics  of  the  L'nited  States. 
Svo.     Paper.  50 

MoRGAX  (Appleton).  The  Shakespearean  Myth;  or,  William 
Shakespeare  and  Circumstantial  Evidence.     12mo.  2  00 

Name  axd  Adoress  Book.  A  Blank  Book,  with  printed  Head- 
ings and  Alphabetical  Marginal  Index,  for  Recording  the 
Names  and  Addresses  of  Professional,  Commercial,  and  Family 
Correspondents.     Svo.  1   00 

Nash  (Simeon).     Crime  and  the  Family.     12mo.  1  25 


6  Historical  and  3Iiscellaneous  Publications  of 

Nerinckx  (Rev.  Charles.)  Life  of,  vnth  Early  Catholic  Mis- 
sions in  Kentucky;  the  Society  of  Jesus;  the  Sisterhood  of 
Loretto,  etc.     By  Rev.  C.  P.  Maes.     8vo.  2  50 

Nichols  (G.  W._)  The  Cincinnati  Organ;  with  a  Brief  Descrip- 
tion of  the  Cincinnati  Music  llall.      12mo.     Paper.  25 

Ohio  Valley  Histoiuc.^.l  Miscellanies.  1.  Memorandums  of  a 
Tour  Made  by  .Tosiah  Epsy,  in  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Ken- 
tucky, and  Indiana  Territory,  in  1805.  II.  Two  Western  Cam- ■ 
paigns  in  the  War  of  1812-13:  1.  Expedition  of  Capt.  H.  Brush, 
with  Supplies  for  General  HuH.  2.  Expedition  of  Gov.  Meigs, 
for  the  relief  of  Fort  Meigs.  By  Samuel  Williams.  111.  The 
Leatherwood  (Tod:  an  account  of  the  Appearance  and  Preten- 
sions of  J.  C.  Dylks  in  Eastern  Ohio,  in  1828.  By  R.  II.  Taney- 
hill.     1   vol.     8vo.     $2  50.     Large  paper,  5  00 

Once  A  Year;  or,  The  Doctor's  Puzzle.     By  E.  B.  S.     I6mo.  1  00 

PiiLSTEKER  (Captain  Frederick.)     The  National  Guardsman:  on 

Guard  and  Kindred  Duties.     24mo.     Leather.  75 

Physician's  Pocket  Case  Record  Prescription  Book.  35 

Physician's  General  Ledger.     Half  Russia.  4  00 

Piatt  (John  J.)  Penciled  Fly-Leaves.  A  Book  of  Essays  in 
Town   and  Country.     Sq.     IGmo.  1  00 

Poole  (W.  F.)  Anti-Slavery  Opinions  before  1800.  An  Es.say. 
8vo.    Paper,  75c. ;  cloth,  1  25 

Practical  receipts  of  experienced  hoi'se-keepers.  By  the  ladies 
of  the  Seventh  Presbyterian  Church,  Cin.      12mo.  1  25 

Prentice  (Geo.  D.)      Poems  of,  collected  and  edited,  with  Bio- 

gra})Lical  Sketch,  by  John  J.  Piatt.      ]2mo  2  00 

Quick  (R.  II.)     Essays  on  Educational  Reformers.     12mo.  1  50 

Ranck  (G.  W.)  History  of  Lexington,  Kentucky.  Its  Early 
Annals  and  Recent  Progress,  etc.     8vo.  4  00 

Reemelin  (C.)  The^  Wine-Maker's  Manual.  A  Plain,  Practical 
Guide  to  all  the  Operations  for  the  Manufacture  of  Still  and 
Sparkling  Wines.     12mo.  1  25 

Reemelin  (C.)     A  Treatise  on  Politics  as  a  Science.     8vo.     1  50 

Reemelin  (C.)  A  Critical  Review  of  American  Politics.  Svo. 
In  Press. 

Rives  (E.,  M.  D.)  A  Chart  of  the  Physiological  Arrangement  of 
Cranial  Nerves.  Printed  in  large  type,  on  a  sheet  28x15 
inches.     Folded,  in  cloth  case.  50 

Robert  (Kail).  Charcoal  Drawing  with  out  a  Master.  A  Com- 
plete Treatise  in  Landscape  Drawing  in  Charcoal,  with  Les- 
sons and  Studies  after  Allonge.  Translated  by  E.  H.  Apple- 
ton.      Illustrated.     Svo  1  00 


Jiobert  Clarke  d:  Co.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  7 

Roy  (Georgp).  Generalship;  or,  How  T  Managed  my  Husband. 
A  tale.     J8mo.     Taper,  GOc;  cloth,  1  00 

Roy   (George).      The    Art    of    Pleasing.      A     Lecture.      12nio. 

Paper.  25 

Roy  (George).     The  Old,  Old  Story.     A  Lecture.     12mo.  Paper.  25 

Russell  (A.  P.).     Thomas  Corwin.     A  Sketch.     IGmo.  1  00 

Russell  ("Wm.)  Scientific  Horseshoeing  for  tlie  Different  Dis- 
eases of  the  Feet.     Illustrated.     8vo.  1  UO 

Sayler  (J.  .\.)  American  Form  P)Ook.  A  Collection  of  Legal 
and  Business  Forms,  embracing  Deeds,  Mortgages,  Leases, 
Bonds,  Wills,  Contracts,  Bills  of  Exchange,  Promissory  Notes, 
Checks,  Bills  of  .*^ale,  Keceipts,  and  other  Legal  Instruments, 
prepared  in  accordance  vvitli  the  Laws  of  the  several  States; 
with  Instructions  for  drawing  and  executing  the  same.  For 
Professional  and  Business  Men.     8vo.  2  00 

Sheets  (Mary  R.)  My  Three  Angels:  Faith,  Hope,  and  Love. 
With  full-page  illustrations  by  E.  D.  Grafton.  4to.  Cloth. 
Gilt.  5  00 

Skinner  (J.  R.)  The  Source  of  Measures.  A  Key  to  the  Hebrew- 
Egyptian  Mystery  in  the  Source  of  Measures,  etc.     8vo.      5  00 

Smith  (Col.  James).  A  Reprint  of  an  Account  of  the  Remark- 
able Occurrences  in  his  Life  and  Travels,  during  his  Captivity 
with  the  Indians  in  the  years  1755,  '56,  '57,  '58,  and  '59,  etc. 
8vo.     $2  50.     Large  paper,  5  00 

Stanton  (H.)     Jacob  Brown  and  other  Poems.     12mo.  1  50 

St.Clair  Papers.  A  Collection  of  the  Correspondence  and  other 
papers  of  General  Arthur  St.Clair,  Governor  of  the  Northwest 
Territory.  Edited,  with  a  Sketch  of  his  Life  and  Public  Ser- 
vices, by  William  Henry  Smith.     2  vols.     8vo.  6  00 

Strauch  (A.)  Spring  Grove  Cemetery,  Cincinnati:  its  History 
and  improvements,  with  Observations  on  Ancient  and  mod- 
ern Places  of  Sepulture.  The  text  beautifully  printed  with 
ornamental,  colored  borders,  and  photographic  illustrations. 
4to.     Cloth.     Gilt.  15  Ou 

An  8vo  edition,  without  border  and  illustrations.  2  00 

Studer  (J.  IT.)  Columbus,  Ohio:  its  History,  Resources,  and  Pro- 
gress, from  its  Settlement  to  the  Present  Time.     12mo.      2  00 

Tankthill  (R.  H.)  The  Leatherwood  God:  an  account  of  the 
Appearance  and  Pretensions  of  Josejjh  C.  Dylks  in  Eastern 
Ohio,  in  182G.     12mo.     Paper.  30 

Tex  Brook  (A.)  American  State  Universities.  Their  Origin  and 
Progress.  A  History  of  the  Congressional  University  Land 
Grants.  A  particular  account  of  the  Rise  and  Development  of 
the  University  of  Michigan,  and  Hints  toward  the  futiu'e 
of  the  American  University  System.     8vo.  ^  00 


8  Historical  and  Miscellaneous  Publications. 

TiT-DEN  (Louise  W.)  Karl  and  Gretchen's  Christmas.  Illustrated. 
Square  12mo.  75 

TiLDEX  (Louise  W.)  Poem,  Hymn,  and  Mission  Band  Exercises. 
Written  and  arranged  for  the  use  of  Foreign  Missionary  Soci- 
eties and  Mission  Bands.     Square  12mo.     Paper.  25 

Trext  (Capt.  Wm.)  Journal  of,  from  Logstown  to  Pickawillany. 
in  1752.      Edited  by  A.  T.  Goodman.     8vo.  2  50 

Triplek  (C.  S.,  M.D.)  and  Bl.\ckmax  (G.  C,  M.D.)  Handbook  for 
the  Military  Surgeon.     12mo.  1   00 

Tyler  D.vvidsox  Foixt.vix.  History  and  Description  of  the 
Tyler  Davidson  Fountain,  Donated  to  the  City  of  Cincinnati, 
by  Henry  Probasco.     l8mo.     Paper.  25 

V.AGO  (A.  L.)  In.-tructions  in  the  art  of  Modeling  in  Clay. 
With  an  Appendix  on  Modelingin  Foliage,  etc.,  for  Pottery  and 
Architectural  Decorations,  by  Benn  Pitman,  of  Cincinnati 
School  of  Design.     Illustrated.     Square  12mo.  I  00 

V.\xHoRXE  (T.  B.)  The  History  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland, • 
its  Organization,  Campaigns,  and  Battles.  Library  Edition. 
2  vols.  "With  Atlas  of  22  maps,  compiled  by  Edward  Ruger. 
8vo. Cloth,  $8  OU;  Sheep,  $10  00;  Half  Morocco,  $12  00. 
Popular  EtHtion..  Containing  the  same  Text  as  the  Library 
Edition,  but  only  one  map.     2  vols.     8vo.     Cloth.  5  00 

Venable  (W.  H.)  June  on  the  Miami,  and  other  Poems.  Second 
edition.     ISmo.  1  50 

VooRHEEs  (D.  AV.)  Speeches  of,  embracing  his  most  prominent 
Forensic,  Political,  Occasional,  and  Literary  Addresses.  Com- 
piled by  his  son,  C.  S.  Voorhees,  with  a  Biographical  Sketch 
and  Portrait.     8vo.  5  00 

W.^LKER  (C.  M.)  History  of  Athens  County,  Ohio,  and  inci- 
dentally of  the  Ohio  Land  Company,  and  the  First  Settlement 
of  the  State  at  Marietta,  etc.  8vo.  $6  00.  Large  Paper.  2 
vols.     $12  00.     Popular  Edition.  4  00 

Walton  (G.  E.)  Hygiene  and  Education  of  Infants;  or.  How 
to  take  care  of  Babies.     24mo.     PajDer.  25 

Ward  (Durbin).  American  Coinage  and  Currency.  An  Essay 
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